playing it safe

Why do advertisers pull ads at the first sign of controversy? In our politically correct obsessed culture, it seems like some great, though perhaps edgy, advertising gets pulled because it's too offensive. This frustrates me when clever advertising that resonates with it's target audience gets pulled, yet garbage that moves nobody gets to continue airing. I think the only way to create truly memorable advertising that compels people to listen is to take risks.

A perfect example of a somewhat edgy strategy is an old school ad campaign from Levy's rye bread. While this ad ran in the 1960s and was well before my time, I still cracked up when I saw it. As the article points out, this kind of ad would never happen in today's society. The ad plays on stereotypes in a comical way, yet these ads would never fly in today's culture.

I think that advertising and marketing are supposed to be two way conversations and when consumers find an ad offensive, they should be listened to. However, I think one or two outspoken opponents to an advertiser or an ad should not ruin something that is genuinely entertaining or enjoyable for the masses -- especially if these outspoken critics are not even in the advertiser's target demographic.