Meanings
- uncountableAdvertising that is intended to shock the viewer.
So-called shockvertising, in the form of ads that are deliberately provocative to draw attention to themselves, is becoming increasingly popular.
2007 March 14, Stuart Elliott, “Critics to Marketers: Suicide Is No Joke”, in New York Times1 more example
Because what they know — what they learned at the feet of the master — is that, in the narrowest sense, shockvertising works. It works (a) by provoking widespread outrage, inevitably reported in the press, creating a level of buzz […]
2004, Bob Garfield, And Now a Few Words From Me
Origin
Blend of shock + advertising.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
shockvertising. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockvertising
“shockvertising.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockvertising. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shockvertising,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockvertising.
Source: shockvertising on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.