What is Taboo Marketing and How does it Attract Attention?

Is your marketing generating the kind of attention that will lead to increased brand exposure, clicks, referrals, and involvement? No matter how much talk your campaign generates, a little taboo may be precisely what it needs to outrun the competition.

 

We've all had that one buddy who has the audacity to express what the rest of us are wondering. And, more often than not, such things must be said...in order for all of us to feel as though we are not alone and that our difficulties are not unique to us. The funniest entertainers are those that bring to light situations that we all face but no one has the courage to discuss.

 

And we all gravitate toward individuals who "have no filters." Why? Because we can't wait to watch what they'll say next; we didn't really learn more of what is meaningful to us without experiencing it made real. 

 

So, if this theory holds true for individuals, why can't it hold true for marketing strategy? Let’s check out what exactly taboo marketing means and its contribution to marketing strategies.

 

(Check out what B2B Marketing Strategies are)

 

 

What is Taboo Marketing?

 

Taboos are brain responses that are easily triggered when we receive messages that are out of the norm and into the forbidden. Consider your attitude whenever the topic of cannibalism or any comparable issue is brought up. We all have an opinion (sometimes a strong one) on such topics, whether we are disgusted or shocked.

 

Taboo marketing is a simple technique for businesses to build a discussion about their product or service. Companies may simply get people talking about them by inciting controversy.

 

This form of marketing is infact a two-edged sword. Companies may overstep in their attempts to confront taboo issues and become the target of a boycott. However, with taboo marketing, it is certain to capture the attention of a population that is starved for stimulation.

 

Take, for example, Burger King. Burger King's marketing staff tweeted "women belong in the kitchen" in honour of International Women's Day in 2021. They intended to confront a taboo subject by writing a threat that highlighted gender inequities in the fast-food sector. It elicited a mostly negative response, with some Twitter users urging a Burger King boycott.

 

(Read more about Buzz Marketing)

 

Taboo Advertising Attracts Customers’ Attention

 

Taboo execution of an advertisement utilises ideas and imagery symbolising a taboo (for example, suicide, murder, and deviant sex practises) to market a product that is largely irrelevant to the taboo. Using taboos in advertisements such as Vezina and Paul, Pope 1997, Voges, and Brown 2004, has become a fairly common technique. 

 

Benetton, for example, has used cultural taboos to advertise its clothing lines, such as a black mother breastfeeding a white infant or a priest kissing a nun. Similarly, numerous firms, including Ikea, Diesel, Calvin Klein, and Eastpack, have adopted similar advertising techniques based on taboo violations. This management setting has given rise to a body of research concerned with determining the effectiveness of taboo advertisements.

 

Interestingly, even after adjusting for brand knowledge and prior exposure, the effects of provoking on memory and attention have stayed unproven, and the linearity of the relationship between taboo provoking manipulation and attention has not been demonstrated.

 

 

Recall of Taboo Marketing

 

Despite their extensive usage in advertising, academics have been unable to agree on whether taboo themes have a beneficial impact on marketing performance. Prior research's contradictory findings are muddled further by the use of self-report and indirect attention measurements. 

 

The current study comprises answers to 23 genuine advertisements collected using a mix of eye-tracking and self-report data in order to evaluate attention and recall effects related to brand-identifying components in advertisements. According to the findings, the taboo has a beneficial effect on recollection and attention, and focusing on brand-identifying material also has an effect on recall. 

 

The results show that taboo increases the duration to initial fixation and the number of fixations for both product pictures and brand logos. As a result, taboo appears to stimulate the interpretation of brand-identifying knowledge.

 

(Related read - Guerrilla Marketing)

 

 

Taboo’s Contribution in Marketing Strategies

 

1. Illumination of Problems while Marketing

 

Taboo sheds light on an issue that people have been scared to face, and it not only provides a realistic solution, but it also gives those individuals a voice. That's a two-for-one deal that sells!

 

This is critical for companies to understand: When looking for holes in your market, pay extra attention to places where people are suffering in silence. Give your problem a voice, and you will be rewarded with their loyalty.

 

2. Gap Identification in the Market

 

They have recognised and filled gaps in the market. They realized that no one is totally content with the outcomes of current products and designed not just a more effective product, but also a marketing strategy that cannot be overlooked.

 

3. A unique way of Addressing

 

They've done things completely unique, not only by producing a private product but also by discussing it in a way that no one else has. That is the single most successful technique to capture a brand's attention—even more essential than 'creating' something is finding a new way to use or talk about it.

 

4. Highlighting relatable human situations

 

They have identified a handful of scenarios to which most people may relate. Not everyone will worry whether they blow up the toilet; but, a huge fraction of the population will, and a lower percentage will be so concerned with it that they will take the product with them, store it at the workplace, and keep it in their home bathrooms. 

 

Brands such as Poo Pourri has not only recognised a large market but one that can benefit from both casual and devoted customers with a high potential of turning half-hearted into fans.

 

(Recommended blog - Defensive Marketing)

 

5. Way of operating as civilization

 

The brand has paved the ground for a shift in how we behave as a civilization. Seems far-fetched, doesn't it? Consider the following: Most individuals bathed once or twice a year throughout the Middle Ages. 

 

That was OK until new products and practices made staying clean simpler... It became the norm rather quickly (or within a few centuries). This is the kind of branding that, for example, has the potential to alter our perceptions of public bathrooms. And it could just transform what we're willing to put up with.

 

6. Usage of Barrier-breaking humour

 

Taboo marketing utilises humour to break down boundaries. We often find it difficult to find words to express how we feel, especially when the subject is difficult to discuss. Not only can humour make companies distinctive, but it also conveys messages in a more comfortable manner for all parties involved.

 

7. Value incrementation

 

They've created amazing value. To its intended audience, blowing up the restroom may spell the loss of a profession, a friendship, a romance, a reputation... At the very least, in their own imaginations. 

 

This isn't simply a bottle of flowery fragrance. In a customer's opinion, it is the salvation of all these things. For a few pounds, a person might feel as though their life would continue unaffected by a humiliating scenario. That's what we call value.

 

8. Striking Audiences’ Imagination

 

The brand has successfully made folks assume. They have expertly selected an activity that individuals engage in on a regular basis—an activity with predictable outcomes—and induced them to reflect on their current circumstances. 

 

Perhaps a person hasn't been concerned about their restroom legacy in the past, but after seeing this ad campaign, they question whether they should be. 

 

What were the folks who were around them thinking? Are they behaving in a savage manner? Is this having an effect on their relationships? A good taboo marketing effort causes consumers to consider modifying their own habits.

 

(Suggested Read - Offensive Marketing)

 

 

Conclusion

 

Despite being regularly violated by advertisers, nothing has been published on the issue of marketing taboos. A definition of the taboo is presented, as well as a reliable and valid assessment of this concept in an advertising context, based on the multi-approach (anthropological, sociological, and psychoanalytic). The communicative impacts of taboo advertisements are researched using this scale. 

 

When promoting forbidden items, embrace the uncomfortable, utilize comedy, and don't be afraid to use a catchy song. Take your stuff lightly and with a sense of humour. The good news is that you don't need to build a consumer base because one already exists! All you have to do is remove the stigma connected with the use of your product. And the greatest way to do it is through comedy.