Sometimes, a controversial ad can do wonders for a business.  In fact, some companies have been made entirely on the back of one advertisement that generated an incredible amount of attention.  

On the other hand, running a controversial ad can backfire and cost you far more than it is worth.  Here is a quick rundown of the pros and cons of running a controversial ad.

The purpose of any ad is to bring attention to your company or product, right?  Well, a controversial ad could very well bring in far more attention than any conventional ad could.  If you want people to hear about your company, a controversial ad can certainly achieve that objective.

Sometimes, however, things just don’t work out the way they are supposed to.  Take the case of the anti-marijuana ads that were commissioned by Congress in the early 2000’s.  Not only did the ads not achieve their stated goals, but they actually may have contributed to an increase in teenage drug use (see http://richarddawkins.net/article,3724,Preacher-says-atheist-ad-campaign-backfired,Reuters).

If you run a controversial ad and it succeeds, or is at least you survive the backlash, you could emerge with a stronger reputation than ever.  After some time, people may begin to see you as being brave and revolutionary for running such as ad despite the possible consequences.  This reputation boost, combined with the increased attention that the ad brought in, could mean money in your pocket.

On the other hand, your reputation could take a major hit if your controversial ad is a spectacular failure.  If the public is overwhelmingly against your ad and what it portrayed, then you will become known simply as the sick company that ran that heinous ad.  Not a good thing.

In some situations, even bad reports or public backlashes against your ad can be good things.  You may see an initial drop in revenue when the ad is fresh in everyone’s mind.  But down the road a few months or a few years, people will begin to forget about the ad and be left only with the memory of your company name.

Your controversial ad may overshadow your company.  People will be interested in your ad, but still not purchase anything from you.  That means you have to follow up your controversial ad with another campaign that tries to close the deal.  If your follow up ad is not as powerful or controversial as the original, it won’t work.  And if you try to be even more controversial, it may backfire.