There are plenty of pressing societal problems that need to be addressed by the public, but the appropriate ways are not easy to choose, at all times. Some companies, associations are bolder than others and make shocking campaigns, even at the risk of alienating some parts of the community.

Charities, NGOs, human rights organizations are among those who use graphic imagery and blunt slogans more bravely to highlight social projects from animal cruelty to the dangers of domestic violence.

No matter how creative the implementation of the above campaigns is, when it comes to posters and magazine adverts the public tend to stomach shocking and even gory imagery mostly if it's for a good cause.

Benetton has been among the first to try selling products through social dialogue. Having tackled such topics as war, Aids, racism, religion and even capital punishment, Benetton's creative director Oliviero Toscani gained supporters and opposers alike to the brand’s activities. Toscani’s Benetton"… views itself as more than a company that makes clothes - it has an obligation to raise awareness and address significant social issues like human and civil rights.” Many found the firm’s ads offensive, of which some had even been banned, however, their intriguing character pointed Benetton out of the crowd of cloth-producing companies and created a unique image to the trademark.

Blood is on our hands

Vangardist magazine’s cover is printed with HIV-infected blood

Vangardist, a progressive men’s magazine based in Vienna printed its recent issue - delivered in a plastic wrap - with HIV-infected blood on its cover to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS. Three HIV-positive people donated blood for the project - theirs are some of the stories told in the issue. The below action is pushing the boundaries of many, is it safe to get in contact with an HIV infected person’s blood?

Doctors say yes. It’s been scientifically proven that the disease cannot survive long outside of the host, so it’s safe to handle. On top of that, the blood was pasteurized and mixed with ink. Despite the above, printers were reluctant to get involved in this project and probably many readers will be as well. “HIV/AIDS is still the sixth-leading cause of death worldwide, claiming 1.5 million lives each year,” says CBS News. So this is a cause worth paying attention to, which the magazine achieved so far with the campaign hitting the press.

Activists were concerned though, that there could be a backlash, setting back the cause rather than moving it forward. Well, it was certainly awareness-raising.

Honor kills

Cosmopolitan Karma Nirvana cover

This February’s issue of Cosmopolitan surprised the world by treating a very traumatic and heart-rending story of a 17-year-old British-Pakistani woman named Shafilea Ahmed, who in 2004, was suffocated and murdered by her parents, in front of her siblings, after she refused an arranged marriage.

Her death was referenced on limited-edition covers of the U.K. printed magazine to raise awareness about so-called honor killings, in which a person is murdered by a family member for bringing what the killer believes, is shame upon the family.

The cover features a plastic wraparound encasing an image of a woman appearing to be suffocated. It's part of a campaign for Karma Nirvana, the U.K. charity that helps victims of honor-based violence.

The campaign also includes a 7-second online film, showing the plastic wrapping being ripped open, signifying the release of women from violence.

Many media outlets called the project scary and provocative, however most newspapers dealt with it, thus the primary goal of the campaign had been reached.

A hair-raising message by Barncancer Fonden

Child cancer awereness campaign by Barncancer Fonden

Earlier a Swedish hair products company, Apotek Hjärtat blew YouTube users away with a subway ad using a responsive screen that made the appearing model’s hair blowing all around when trains entered the station.

The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation used the same technique to create a special version of the video by filling it with a meaningful message. Their aim was to raise attention to the fact that every day a child is diagnosed with cancer. In the video the model’s hair - a wig actually - is whiffed off with the wind as the train arrives.

This non-profit organization accepts money to prevent and combat cancer diseases in children from individuals and the private sector exclusively, so they had to come up with an idea that reaches the vast majority of citizens. Their efforts were crowned with success, as the video reached 10 million people already on YouTube.

From the below examples it’s clearly visible that shock catches the masses’ eyes, for visualization of death, mutilation, chronic diseases, child abuse breaks through most people’s threshold. The question is: how far can we go to reach?

Sources:
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.adweek.com
www.businessinsider.com