Social Guerrilla Marketing: Quit Smoking

Trashcans on the streets warn smokers of dangers to their eye sight.  Very creative and shocking, isn't it?This container is exclusive for cigarettes. The goal was to make people stop smoking, and the idea of the x-ray was brilliant!

WebUrbanist wrote an in-depth article on guerilla marketing—here's a snippet:

In a word, yes. The goal of any advertisement is to get you to do something. Whether that something is buying a product, seeing a movie or, as in the picture above (from a UK ashcan), stop smoking, marketers play on psychological principles to affect our behavior. The advertising world has latched on to these principles because of their incredible effectiveness.

But what kind of lifespan does guerrilla marketing have? Will we eventually become desensitized to even the most shocking advertisements?According to some people, though, guerrilla marketing campaigns already go too far. While they are by nature invasive and jarring, there have been several guerrilla marketing campaigns that were overflowing with shock value. Besides some notable well-intended flops, many guerrilla marketing campaigns either fall short of the mark or overestimate our tolerance for shocking images or methods.

[via WebUrbanist and AdvertisingIsGoodForYou]