“Shockvertising” deliberately (vs. inadvertently) shocks and possibly offends its audience by violating social norms. Shock value can be used to bring awareness to a brand or cause, breaking through advertising clutter to capture attention and create buzz, both negatively and positively varying with audience.

Now that it’s the month of Halloween I recall last years choice of costume, Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord. Die Antwoord is rap-rave music group from South Africa that embraces shock value throughout their brand- graphic music videos, extreme symbolism, raw lyrics, and behaviour that can be viewed as socially unacceptable. The duo often evokes odd and discomforting emotion, leaving viewers feeling a whole lot of WTF?!! But in the end, if you’re like me, you find yourself wanting more, forcing the query and relationship between genius and madness.