Ad Review Rating: 3.5 stars.

Advertising Age, November, 1999 by garfield, bob

The headline, in Newsweek, read ``Shock Treatment.'' What followed was a story about advertisers so desperate to break through the clutter that they assault the viewer with extremely provocative, incendiary or lewd images.

And it's true. Many a jerk with a small media budget and an even smaller sense of respect for himself and others will use raunchy sex jokes, violence and other disturbing imagery just to get noticed.

Sort of in the way walking up to a stranger and kneeing him in the groin gets you noticed.

So, yes, as these trend stories go, Newsweek's was at least observant enough to identify the trend. It's a megatrend, actually -- more's the pity. The problem is, the ad cited to make the case had no business in this story.

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