Roundtable on Taboos and Advertising

Abstract

Abstract: This roundtable brings together advertising scholars, educators, and practitioners to talk about taboos and advertising. Topics covered include the following: what a taboo means; how a taboo compares to a controversy; how taboos reveal cultural, social, and legal regulations; the need to consider the consequences of representing taboos in particular contexts; the use of fear and shock in advertising; the difference between fear and shock; representations of death in advertising; humor's effectiveness in talking about taboo topics; audiences' different interpretations of taboos; taboos within the advertising industry; and advice for practitioners, professors, and students. The article includes a discussion of many sample advertisements covering a range of subjects: bad breath ("halitosis"), biracial couples, body odor, child marriage, death, defecation, genitalia, guns, erectile dysfunction, HIV and AIDS, incontinence, LGBTQ+ people kissing, menstruation, sex, and yeast infections.