One such ad features a close-up of a woman's face, enormous flames shootingfrom her eyelashes. Her metallic-toned face looks as if it's on fire. Yetshe's not the least bit concerned. It is merely promoting sophisticatedcomputer chips, from a division of Texas Instruments, that help createhigh-definition images. Another ad, by UpShot.com, is for sales-automationsoftware, and it strives to make a connection between the product and thebrain; but it does so by embedding a metal strip into the top of a bald headthat can be opened with a twist key, the kind found on a sardine can.

There's no pain -- that is unless you think about it. And in a MontyPythonesque TV commercial for Kellogg's Rice Krispie Treats, an entire arm -- stuck to the snack -- gets yanked off a hapless subway rider, causing him mildchagrin.

What's the thinking behind these "ouch" ads? Part of it is the fact thatcomputer graphics make it possible. For good or bad, "agency creatives arefinding they have the ability to translate their wildest imaginations intoadvertising," says Robert Kahn, executive director, world-wide marketing atFutureBrand, Interpublic Group's global-branding consulting firm.

There is also the need to attract attention, something that gets moreproblematic by the day. "Everybody is screaming 'look at me, look at me,' "says Raymond Pierre, global director of brand-value management atInterbrand, a New York brand consultancy and Omnicom Group unit.

UpShot.com, a Mountain View, Calif., company that sells sales-automationsoftware, didn't set out to shock with its metal-strip-in-the-head print ad.The strategy was to show that Upshot's software "allows the sales force toshare knowledge," says Jamie Pfaff, chief creative at TFA/Leo BurnettTechnology, which is a part of BCom3 Group. He adds that the target audienceis a big factor in how far an image should go. With regards to UpShot.com'saudience, that is, sales-force executives, "they are pretty tough people.They are not squeamish, generally," he added.

Sound effects -- and not Snap, Crackle, Pop -- help play up the gruesome imagesused in the new Rice Krispie Treat commercial. "You can make the commutemore pleasurable with Rice Krispie Treat Squares," a voiceover says as ajerked-around rider applies a Rice Krispie Treat to a hanging subway-carstrap to help him hang on. As the train lunges, a loud ripping sound isfollowed by a shot of the commuter falling to the floor, only to look up andnotice that his arm is still attached to the hanger. "Rice Krispie Treats.Great for grip. Best when eaten," the voiceover says as the man eats a Treatusing a prosthesis.

This ad, shown on MTV and other youth networks, is less about grabbingattention than about reaching teens, claims Leo Burnett, the Chicago agencybehind the commercial. In year past, Rice Krispies ads were aimed at mothersbut now the snack product is trying to reach teens. "If you really want toconnect with them [teens] ... you have to do it with a certain amount ofcourage and honesty," says Jonathan Hoffman, an executive creative directorat Burnett.

Tony Pace, general manager at McCann-Erickson, which did the ads that showthe woman's face on fire, says his agency doesn't believe in using shock forshock's sake. "The product is all about dramatic images, so the advertisinghas to set high standards for dramatic images," he says. The ads, done byMcCann-Erickson Southwest, are for Digital Light Processing, a division ofTexas Instruments, and it is running in publications such as Business Week."Project your passion with blazing digital light" goes the copy.

Using disturbing images may have its drawbacks, many branding gurus say."Advertisers are forgetting how people feel about the ads' effects," saysAllen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates, Young & Rubicam'sbranding and design consulting group. Curious or unsettling images can be astrategic tool that agencies use to break through the clutter, but creativeexecutives must make sure that the "shocking message is relevant" to thebrand, he adds.

One especially painful-looking ad that has been showing up in newspapers isfor United Technologies. It features a man whose weary eyes are forced openwide with wooden matchsticks. For people who look any closer at the ad,created by Havas Advertising's Euro RSCG Tatham, the copy reads: "notanother corporate campaign." It goes on to make fun of other ad campaigns.

The agency said the work is "an introductory ad for United Technologies" andits "intention was to break out of the corporate-advertising cliches." AllanReed, management supervisor on the account at Euro RSCG Tatham, says futuread efforts will reinforce that UT, which makes aerospace equipment andelevators, among other things, isn't the company people thought it was.

So far, most of the agencies say, their clients haven't mentioned receivingany complaints about the ads. Still, experts warn that advertisers run therisk of alienating consumers by selecting monstrous images. Many consumersmay remember the image but forget what company or product it is for.

By being startling, marketers may meet the first objective of getting yourattention, says Landor's Adamson, but they could be "missing the long-termopportunity to build a relationship with the customer."

(The Wall Street Journal)