Controversy in the Marketplace

Introduction

Have you ever been surfing the web and seen an article about how some group is attacking a product due to some controversy? Have you then proceeded to read about said product and eventually seeking it out to see if it’s as bad as what the mentioned group(s) said? Well, this is how sales are made. I believe that controversy can help sell products by creating curiosity, giving something for people to criticize, and giving something for people to talk about. Are there products that are not socially acceptable to advertise. Is it true that too much controversy can prevent a product from selling?

Controversy and You

Going back to the example above. Say the product is a game that is being criticized for having ultra-violent themes and excessive gore and blood. That doesn’t sound too interesting does it? Well, let’s say that the game is said to have a lot of violence and too much blood, and a good underlining theme. You’re probably more likely to go look at the one with the good plot, rather than the pointless ultra-violent one. A study, done by Wharton (2013), has found that too much controversy can completely turn people off of a product. While another research by Waller (2005) shows that just the right amount of controversy can leave people with a good feeling about a product, but too much will leave them with disgust and distaste. That’ll make them not want to make purchases from that company thus decreasing sales, so advertisers have to be careful with how much controversy they expose. As Jonah Berger put it, “The middle end of that [controversy] scale is the sweet spot” (Wharton 2013).

What is Controversial?

Have you ever been watching TV with the family and a Trojan commercial pops up and eve...

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... in a way that makes them feel comfortable about discussing their company with others which will open the door to more customers and sales.

Works Cited

Finding Your Company’s ‘Controversy Sweet Spot’. Knowledge@Wharton (2013, December 05). Retrieved from https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/finding-companys-controversy-sweet-spot/

"Does controversy sell? Ad research suggests not!." Quirks Marketing Research Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .

Waller, David S. (2005). A Proposed Response Model for Controversial Advertising.

Retrieved from: https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/research/bitstream/handle/10453/5787/2005002296.pdf?sequence=1.

Waller, David. "Attitudes Towards Offensive Advertising: an Australian study." Journal of Consumer Marketing 16.3 (1999): 288-294. Redirecting. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.