Shock Advertising and Audience Response: Qualitative Content Analysis of Comments on Billboard Promotion of the Movie Aku Harus Mati on Platform Threads

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FORMOSA NEWS - Jakarta - Shock Advertising Strategy Backfires as Movie Billboard Triggers Public Ethical Backlas. A newly published study by researchers Nur Cholis and Rika Amijayanti from Universitas Paramadina reveals that shock advertising strategies in public spaces can trigger severe negative responses, psychological discomfort, and public calls for boycotts. Published in the Asian Journal of Management Analytics in 2026, the study demonstrates that relying on shocking visuals and sensitive themes to gain attention on social media often results in negative virality rather than effective marketing. The findings highlight why high digital engagement rates do not necessarily translate to promotional success when accompanied by intense ethical criticism.

Public Exposure and the Risks of Unfiltered Outdoor Media
In modern digital marketing communication, brands frequently use emotional, surprising, or controversial messages to stand out in a crowded media landscape. Shock advertising uses elements of surprise, discomfort, or social taboos to capture immediate public attention. While this tactic can increase brand awareness, placing controversial content on large outdoor billboards presents unique ethical risks. Unlike social media posts which users can scroll past, skip, or filter outdoor billboards at strategic street corners occupy public spaces where exposure is involuntary. Pedestrians, commuters, children, and vulnerable individuals are exposed to these messages without consent. This issue gained national attention when a large billboard promoting the horror movie Aku Harus Mati ("I Must Die") featured unsettling visuals and explicit wording related to death and mental health. The billboard quickly ignited widespread public outrage and ethical debates on the microblogging platform Threads, led by prominent medical professionals including @dr.piprim and @dr.bobbyjantung.

Analyzing Audience Responses on Social Media
To evaluate how the public received and interpreted the billboard promotion, the researchers applied a qualitative thematic content analysis to public conversations on Threads. Nur Cholis and Rika Amijayanti from Universitas Paramadina collected and analyzed 98 public comments from two primary discussion threads initiated by health experts regarding the billboard. The research methodology involved several systematic analytical steps:

• Data Reduction and Open Coding: Comments were extracted and assigned specific thematic codes to capture public perceptions, emotional reactions, and ethical evaluations.
  
• Thematic Categorization: Patterns of meaning were grouped into distinct themes, such as psychological triggers, visual discomfort, concern for vulnerable groups, and calls for action.
  
• Interpretive Analysis: The researchers analyzed the social and emotional context behind the comments rather than relying purely on statistical counts.
  
• Source Triangulation: Comment patterns from different social media threads were cross-referenced to ensure consistent analytical findings.
  

Key Research Findings: High Engagement vs. Negative Virality
The research data demonstrated that public reaction to the Aku Harus Mati movie billboard was overwhelmingly negative. High social media engagement was driven by public criticism, concern, and moral outrage rather than genuine interest in viewing the film. Key findings from the thematic analysis include:

• Psychological Triggers (37 instances): Audiences reported that the explicit diction and morbid themes acted as psychological triggers for individuals suffering from depression, trauma, or suicidal ideation.
  
• Visual Discomfort in Public Spaces (55 instances): Commenters expressed strong discomfort regarding the billboard’s large size, creepy imagery, and placement at busy intersections, noting that it distracted drivers and disrupted urban public spaces.
  
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups (32 instances): Parents and guardians voiced deep concern over the exposure of young children aged 6 to 7 and teenagers undergoing psychiatric treatment to disturbing content in public transit zones.
  
• Violations of Advertising Ethics (26 instances): Users criticized the campaign for violating Indonesian Advertising Ethics guidelines, which explicitly prohibit advertisements from exploiting fear or anxiety.
  
• Recognition of Negative Virality (13 instances): Users recognized that the controversial campaign was designed to gain viral publicity through outrage, labelling the approach as irresponsible marketing.
  
• Active Behavioral Rejection (14 instances): Public backlash escalated beyond sentiment into active behavioral responses, including demands for local authorities to take down the billboards and widespread calls to boycott the film.
  

Real-World Implications for Marketers, Industry, and Regulators
The study by Nur Cholis and Rika Amijayanti provides vital lessons for marketing practitioners, film distributors, and public policy makers. In digital marketing, high interaction metrics such as likes, reposts, and quote-shares are frequently mistaken for promotional success. However, when engagement is driven by ethical backlash, virality turns into a serious reputational risk that can damage brand equity and lower purchase intent. For the entertainment and advertising industries, the research highlights the necessity of pre-market ethical evaluations, audience sensitivity testing, and reputational risk assessments before launching campaigns with sensitive themes. For municipal governments and advertising regulators, the study underscores the need for stricter enforcement of outdoor advertising standards to protect public mental health and shield vulnerable demographics in shared public spaces.

Author Profiles
Nur Cholis, S.Sos., M.Si. is an academic researcher at Universitas Paramadina specializing in marketing communication, digital media dynamics, and social media audience reception.
Rika Amijayanti, S.I.Kom., M.I.Kom. is a lecturer and communication scholar at Universitas Paramadina with expertise in advertising ethics, integrated marketing communication, and qualitative content analysis.

Source
Nur Cholis, Rika Amijayanti. Shock Advertising and Audience Response: Qualitative Content Analysis of Comments on Billboard Promotion of the Movie Aku Harus Mati on Platform Threads. Asian Journal of Management Analytics (AJMA), Vol. 5, No. 3, 2026, hal. 697–712
DOI : https://doi.org/10.55927/ajma.v5i3.16690
URL:  https://journal.formosapublisher.org/index.php/ajma