ADVERTISING AND ETHICAL ISSUES

Ethical Issues

Advertising is a dynamic social form where business interests, creativity, consumer needs and government regulations meet. The high visibility of advertising makes it particularly vulnerable to criticism. E.g.: Benetton is both a vehicle to sell clothing as well as a platform to express opinions on social issues. As a consequence of these mixed perspectives, it has had to pay a heavy price – number of stores dropped as well as lost out in 1991.

Another aspect is that people feel that advertising plays the role of the “Hidden Persuader” and that consumers are its victims as they are manipulated to buy products they neither need nor can afford.

Also findings indicate that while ad executives are fed up with bad ads produced by their trade, consumers do not care much one way or the other because of the overdrive of advertising products.

However, it is worthwhile to be aware of the social issues facing advertising, as social responsibility requires a balance between public welfare and freedom of speech.

Ethical Criteria

In spite of regulation, every issue is not covered by a clear, written rule. Many issues are left to the discretion of the advertiser and these decisions may be based on a variety of considerations – objective of ad campaign, attitudes of target audience and the legal precedent. Many decisions are also based on ethical concerns.

Issues central to an ethical discussion on advertising are:

·         Advocacy

·         Accuracy

·         Acquisitiveness

Advocacy

By its very nature, advertising tries to persuade the audience that they need new products and to buy it, since it persuades it is not objective or neutral. This fact disturbs critics who think ads should be objective, informative and neutral. They want ads to provide info and then stop there.

Accuracy

Beyond the easily ascertainable claims in an ad message are matters of perception. Will buying the automobile make an envy of my neighbor? Will wearing a perfume make me more attractive? Such messages may be implied by the situations pictured in the ads. In spite of being aware that these messages will not essentially change our lifestyle, ad critics raise concern when these messages are directed to particular groups with limited experience such as children and teenagers.

Acquisitiveness

Some critics believe that advertising is a symbol of our society’s preoccupation with accumulation of material goods. We are constantly exposed to gods that are bigger, better, changing, newer, etc. and into thinking that we must have these products.

·         We do have free choice of what we buy

·         Advertising offers choice and incentives

·         Advertising informs consumers about goods and services they demand

·         Ultimately, consumers make the final decision

The Problem of being Ethical

Advertising can seek help in making decisions about questionable situations with the help of code of ethic that help provide general guidance. When advertising decisions are not covered by a code, rule or regulation, someone must make an ethical decision. This person must weigh the pros and cons and make value judgment about an unfamiliar situation. These decisions are complex because there exists no clear consensus about what is ethical behavior.

The complexity of ethical issues requires us to make conscious effort to deal with each situation. After all it is people who create the ethical atmosphere of an organization.

ü  Who should and should not be advertised to?

ü  What should and should not be advertised?

ü  What should and should not be the content of the advertising message?

ü  What should and should not be the symbolic tone of the advertising message?

ü  What should and should not be the relationship between advertising and the mass media?

ü  What should and should not be advertising conscious obligation to society?

Therefore:

·         There is no clear consensus on what defines ethical behavior.

·         There is potential conflict between personal ethics and what might be good for business.

·         Just because it is legal doesn’t mean that it’s right.

Related Factors in Ethical Decision Making

·         Nature of the company

·         Marketing objectives

·         Reputation of the company

·         Available resources

·         Competition

Puffery

It literally means ‘puffing’ up a product or exaggerating its qualities. Since this does not fall under the legal purview, it has become an ethical issue.

 

Rules of Advertising

1.       Advertising should be designed as to conform not only to the laws but not also to the moral and aesthetic sentiments of the country in which it is published.

2.       No advertisement likely to bring advertising into contempt or disrepute should be permitted. Advertising should not take advantage of the superstition or credulity of the general public.

3.       Advertising should tell the truth and avoid distorting facts and misleading by means of implication and omissions. For instance it should not mislead the consumer by false statements as to:

·         The character of the merchandise – i.e.: its utility, material, ingredients, origin.

·         The price of the merchandise or its value, its suitable or the terms of the purchase.

·         The service, accompanying purchase, including delivery exchange, return, repair, upkeep.

·         Personal recommendations of the article or service. Testimonials which are fictitious or the originals of which cannot be produced must not be used. Anyone using testimonials in advertisements is as responsible for the statements made in them as he would be if he had made them himself.

·         The equality of the value of competing goods or the trustworthiness of statements made by others.

4.       No advertisement should be permitted to contain any claim so exaggerated as to lead inevitably to disappoint in the mind of the consumer. Special care is called for in the case of:

·         Advertisement addressed to those suffering from illness.

·         No such advertisements should hold out the promise of cure for serious disease nor contain any statement calculated to injure the health of the sufferer by dissuading him or her from seeking a medical advice or otherwise.

·         Advertisements inviting the public to invest money should not contain statements which may mislead the public in respect of the security offered, rates of return or terms of amortization.

·         Advertisements inviting the public to take part in lotteries or competitions with prize or which hold out the prospect of gifts.

Such advertisements should state clearly all the conditions for the lottery or competition or the conditions for the distribution of the gifts.

Virtually every product is puffed up. Terms like “The Best” or “The Greatest” were sales talk. Everyone knows that “Wonder Bread” is not really a wonder, and “The Greatest show on Earth” is not what everyone considers the greatest. Puffery, therefore, was a form of opinion statement and not regulated. Some observers have expressed concern that the “Puffery defense” was a loophole through which many deceptive claims fell. The commission has been criticized for allowing deceptive claims to clip through under the guise of puffery.

Puffery can be defined as:

1.       Reasonable people do not believe to be true product qualities and

2.       Incapable of being proved either true or false

Consequently, if deception is the creation of a false belief about the product in the mind of a consumer, claims that fall into the definition of puffery cannot be deceptive. By definition such claims can be neither false nor can they create belief.

Puffery has generally viewed as a form of poetic license. Consumers are aware of the exaggeration and do not believe it. Some argue that puffery has a detrimental effect on consumers’ purchase decisions and that should be illegal.

Taste in Advertising

We all have our own ideas as to what constitutes good taste. Hence different things offend different people. What is in good taste to some is objectionable to another. E.g.: Calvin Klein jeans which showed a young man rubbing his crotch with a soaking wet pair. Though the 16-24 age groups found this ad exciting, the older consumers were dismayed.

One dimension of taste is the product itself. E.g.: underwear, laxatives, hygiene, AIDS, etc. have higher levels of distaste then do other ads. Also the fast that TV can bring this into out rooms and talk about it embarrasses many.

Another dimension is the matching of certain ads with the program of media. E.g.: ads targeted to adults on Cartoon Network, etc.

A third dimension is that taste changes over time. What is offensive today may not be considered so in the future. E.g.: a deodorant ad in 1919 that led to cancellation of subscription would be considered pretty tame by today’s standards.

Stereotyping

Advertising is often accused of creating and perpetuating stereotypes through its portrayal of women, ethnic minorities, elderly and other groups.

The portrayal of women in advertising is an issue that has received a great deal of attention through the years. Women are often depicted as preoccupied with household duties, motherhood, or they are shown as decorative objects are sexually provocative figures.

Advertising shows a consistent picture of gender stereotyping. Women are shown as passive, lack of intelligence and credibility. In contrast men have been portrayed as constructive, powerful, autonomous and achieving. Even stereotyping exists in ads target to children. Boys are usually shown as more knowledgeable, active and aggressive than girls. Non-verbal behavior involving dominance and control are associated more with boys than girls.

While sexism and stereotyping still exist, advertising’s portrayal of women is improving in many ways. Women are portrayed more realistically. Women have crossed the boundary from the domestic sphere to the professional arena. Many advertisers are now depicting women in a diversity of roles that reflect their changing place in society. In many ads, the stereotypic character traits attributed to women have shifted from weak and dependent to strong and autonomous.

Some advertisers have been criticized for portraying senior citizens as feeble, foolish, inept or in desperate need of help.