In today’s society there are a set of underlying rules that determine the proper way to conduct one’s self. Maintaining a job, respecting other people’s rights and living accordingly to the letter of the law, are values that are deeply embedded into western culture. If someone follows a basic set of standard rules they are considered a contributing member of society. Every person, however, deep in the darkest corners of their soul, has a deviant side. Everyone at times has urges of violence, sex, and thoughts of going against the grain of the social order and “letting loose.” Most people choose not to indugle these urges in order to avoid chaos. Advertisers understand these urges and use them to strategically sell products. One example of this type of advertising was done in an ad for Xbox, Microsoft’s gaming system.
The commercial depicts a busy train station that suddenly turns into a mock gun fight between everyday citizens. With only their fingers, pandemonium erupts and people are “killed” in the cross fire. This ad shows deviant behavior from law abiding citizens in an ordinary public place. The selling point of the ad is the idea of excitement through deviant activity. The product serves as a way to release the consumer’s dark urges without producing anarchy in the real world. Dr. Strangelove describes this strategy in advertising as an attempt by advertisers to normalize deviance. In other words, sometimes through the use of a specific product, bad is good.
