HUMA ATTA

ETHICS IN ADVERTISING/ MARKETING

´ Marketing is the process of identifying customer needs and determining how best to
meet those needs where as advertising is the exercise of promoting a company and its
products or services through paid channels. In other words, advertising is a
component of marketing.
´ Advertising means a mode of communication between a seller and a buyer.
´ Ethics in advertising means a set of well-defined principles which govern the ways of
communication taking place between the seller and the buyer.
´ The main interest for advertisers is to increase their sales, gain more customers, and
increase the demand for the product by presenting a well decorated and colorful ad.
They claim that their product is the best, having unique qualities than the competitors,
more cost effective, and more beneficial.
What Is the Difference Between Unethical & Ethical Advertising?
´ Ethics in Advertising is directly related to the purpose of advertising and the nature of
advertising. Sometimes exaggerating the ad becomes necessary to prove the benefit of
the product. For e.g., a baby diaper ad which shows that when the diaper was dropped
in a river by a mother, the diaper soaked whole water of the river. Thus, the purpose
of advertising was only to inform mothers about the product quality. Obviously, every
mother knows that this cannot practically happen but the ad was accepted. This
doesn’t show that the ad was unethical.
´ Ethics also depends on what we believe. If the advertisers make ads with the belief
that the customers will understand, persuade them to think, and then act on their ads,
then this will lead to positive results and the ad may not be called unethical. But at the
same time, if advertisers believe that they can fool their customers by showing any
impractical things like just buying a lottery ticket will make you a millionaire, then
this is not going to work out for them and will be called as unethical.
Ads should follow three moral principles;
1) Truthfulness
2) Social Responsibility
3) Upholding Human Dignity
UNETHICAL ADVERTISING/ MARKETING
Unlike in the 1940s and 1950s, today if an advertiser fails to tell the truth about tobacco
offends morality in addition to the law.
´ Negative Advertising Techniques
The advertiser highlights the disadvantages of competitor products rather than the advantages
of their own. These methods are especially used in politics.
´ Delivery Channels
Direct marketing is the most controversial of advertising channels, particularly when
approaches are unwelcome. TV commercials and direct mail are common examples.
Electronic spam and telemarketing push the borders of ethics and legality more strongly.
´ Deceptive Advertising and Ethics
One of the deceptive methods is accomplished through the use of humor. Humor provides an
escape or relief from some kind of human constraint, and some advertisers intend to take
advantage of this by deceptively advertising a product that can potentially lessen that
constraint through humor.
´ Anti-competitive Practices
Bait (attract) and switch is a form of fraud where customers are “baited” by advertising for a
product or service at a low price; second, the customers discover that the advertised good is
not available and are “switched” to a costlier product.
´ Planned Obsolescence (uselessness)
It is a policy of designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become unfashionable
or no longer functional after a certain period of time and put the consumer under pressure to
purchase again.
´ Pyramid Scheme
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants
payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than
supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.
´ Pricing Ethics
o Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one
party, although for the sake of appearance several other parties also present a bid.
o Predatory pricing is the practice of selling a product or service at a very low price,
intending to drive competitors out of the market, or create barriers to entry for
potential new competitors.
 ´ Using Ethics as a Marketing Tactic
Major corporations fear the damage to their image associated with press revelations of
unethical practices. This results in the propagation of ethics itself as a selling point or a
component of a corporate image.
´ Surrogate Advertising
In certain places there are laws against advertising products like cigarettes or alcohol.
Surrogate advertising finds ways to remind consumers of these products without referencing
them directly. Until today, there hasn’t come any liquor ad which shows anyone drinking the
original liquor. They use mineral water and sodas in their advertisements with their brand
name. These types of ads are called surrogate ads. These types of ads are totally unethical
when liquor ads are totally banned. Even if there are no advertisements for alcohol, people
will continue drinking.
Cigarettes and Tobacco - these products should never be advertised as consumption of these
things is directly and badly responsible for cancer and other severe health issues. These are
already banned in countries like India, Norway, Thailand, Finland and Singapore.
´ Exaggeration
Some advertisers use false claims about a product’s quality or popularity. A Slogan like
“get coverage everywhere on earth” advertises features that cannot be delivered. Many
people buy diet pills even though they are rarely, if ever, effective. This is because some
diet pill companies use exaggerated and manipulative claims to essentially trick
customers into buying these products.
´ Puffery
When an advertiser relies on subjective rather than objective claims, they are puffing up
their products. Statements like “the best tasting coffee” cannot be confirmed objectively.
No “reasonable person” would take it literally. An example would be “Red Bull Gives
You Wings.”
´ Unverified Claims
Many products promise to deliver results without providing any scientific evidence.
Shampoo commercials that promise stronger, shinier hair do so without telling consumers
why or how.
´ Stereotyping Women
 Women in advertising have been objectified or shown as domestic servants. This type of
advertising promotes stereotypes and contributes to a sexist culture.

´ Selective advertising
Selective marketing is used to discourage demand from so-called undesirable market
sectors or marginalize them altogether. Examples of unethical market exclusion are past
industry attitudes to the gay, ethnic minority, and plus-size markets
´ Children in advertising
Children consume huge amounts of advertising without being able to evaluate it
objectively. Exploiting this innocence is one of the most common unethical marketing
practices. One of these types of ads is the one which shows evening snacks for the kids,
they use coloring and gluing to make the product look glossy and attractive to the
children and convince them to buy the product without giving a second thought.
Children are also the major sellers of the ads and the product as they have the power
to convince the buyers. But when advertisers are using children in their ad, they should
remember not to show them alone doing their work on their own like brushing teeth,
playing with toys, or infants holding their own milk bottles as everyone knows that no
one will leave their kids unattended while doing all these activities. So showing parents
also involved in all activities or things being advertised will be more logical.
´ Pharmaceutical Advertising
They help creating awareness; the advertisers show what the medicine can cure but never
talk about the side effects of that same thing or the risks involved in intake of it.

WHAT IS ETHICAL ADVERTISING/ MARKETING?

´ To market ethically and effectively one should be reminded that all marketing
decisions and efforts are necessary to meet and suit the needs of customers, suppliers,
and business partners. Companies should be concerned for the population and the
environment in which they do business. They must feel that they have a social
responsibility to people, places and things in their sphere of influence.
´ The U.S. Federal Trade Commission defines ethical advertising as truthful, not
deceptive, is backed by evidence, and fair.
 ´ Ethical marketing seeks to promote honesty, fairness, and responsibility in all
advertising. It is a general set of guidelines to assist companies as they evaluate new
marketing strategies.
 

Principles of Ethical Advertising/ Marketing

´ It is possible to effectively advertise your products and services without having to tell
any lies.
´ Ethical advertising never finds ways to stretch the capabilities of a product or conceal
the defects of that product.
1. Advertisement will not use subliminal messages
Subliminal messages will not be used to communicate your message, where you should seek
to insert certain messages directly into the subconscious of audience.
2. Advertisement need to promote your product’s distinction
Ethical advertising will always look for a way to show the difference between the product
being advertised and competing products in the markets. It will be distinguished and shown
to be unique. The customer will always be able to identify the product because the imagery
and the overall tone of the product will not be capable of confusion with other products.
3. Advertisement should be socially conscious
Ethical advertising will try its best to be positive and optimistic. It will not promote
controversial stereotypes, such as the ones that revolve around age, religion, gender, or race.
4. Advertisement should not manipulate human emotion
Ethical advertising does not manipulate the lowest of human emotions (greed, lust, fear). An
example is one where the unethical advertisement preys on human fear. It may make it look
like the consumers’ health will be in danger if they do not purchase the product being
advertised.
5. Advertisement should be environmentally conscious
Ethical advertising will do its best not to cause any kind of unnecessary harm to the
environment. Ethical advertising will try not to depict a hedonistic lifestyle that is excessive
and consumerist in nature. The components that will be used to make the advertisement will
be recyclable and the creation methods will be non-polluting in nature. The advertisement
will also do its best to avoid the excessive waste of resources.
6. All marketing communications should share the common standard of truth.
7. Marketing professionals abide by the highest standard of personal ethics.
8. Advertising is clearly distinguished from news.
9. Marketers should be transparent about who they pay to endorse their products.
10. Consumers should be treated fairly based on the nature of the product and the nature of
the consumer (e.g., marketing to children).
11. The privacy of the consumer should never be compromised.
12. Ethics should be discussed openly and honestly during all marketing decisions.
13. Marketers must comply with regulations and standards established by governmental and
professional organizations.
Example
One company which embodies the spirit of ethical marketing is The Body Shop. Since their
inception they have been committed to treating workers fairly, avoiding animal testing, using
organic products, and promoting healthy body images. These values are often at the center of
their marketing efforts. The ethical nature of the company is highlighted as a way to
differentiate themselves from their competitors in the cosmetics industry.
LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSTRAINTS ON MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
´ As a result of the perceived abuses of advertising, national governments all over the
world have imposed laws and regulations on the advertising industry. Every country
or region has its own area of sensitivity. In many Muslim nations, for example, there
are prohibitions against advertisements that display nudity or offend traditional
notions of decency. France and Germany prohibit comparative advertisements in
which one brand claims to be superior to another.
´ The official response of most governments has been to allow the sale of tobacco and
alcohol instead of prohibiting or strictly limiting their advertising.
´ Many products have positive uses but can also be dangerous if misused, like
automobiles, knives, lighter fluid, pesticides, toys, athletic equipment, and so on. In
such cases, the law usually prohibits advertising that encourages the consumer to use
the product in a dangerous fashion. Another common type of marketing regulation is
one that prohibits advertisements from making false, deceptive, or misleading claims.
In most countries, such rules are enforced by the ministry for consumer affairs. In the
United States, rules against deceptive advertisements are promulgated and enforced
by the (FTC).
 ´ There are certain product categories in which exaggerated claims are commonly
made. For example, in the case of skin creams, cosmetics, perfumes, deodorants,
toothpaste, mouthwash, and so on, advertisers typically claim (or suggest indirectly)
that their products make the consumer more physically attractive, especially to the
opposite gender. Thus, teenage boys have been known to douse themselves with
Unilever’s Axe deodorant products in the hope that they will attract females as
effectively as is suggested in Axe’s notoriously provocative advertising.
´ In many countries, regulators are especially vigilant when it comes to advertising
aimed at children, because it is felt that children are sometimes more susceptible to
manipulation or suggestion and are less likely to understand the dangers associated
with the use of an advertised product. In Greece, for example, toy advertisements are
prohibited between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. In Sweden and Norway, all
advertising aimed at children is prohibited, and in France, a child may not appear as
the spokesperson in a commercial. In Holland, advertisements for sweets must include
a toothbrush at the bottom of the ad to remind children to brush their teeth after eating
sweets.
Marketing Ethics and Regulatory Committee
´ Many types of advertisement are simply prohibited by law. However, with respect to
advertisements that are legal but morally questionable (or otherwise objectionable),
the advertising sector polices itself by applying self-regulatory codes of marketing
and advertising ethics. This means that the advertising industry sets up its own
committees to police questionable advertisements. Virtually every country has at least
one advertising industry trade association with a self-regulatory panel or committee
that reviews consumer complaints. After examining the advertisement in question, the
panel decides whether or not to ask the advertiser to remove the advertisement;
although advertisers are not legally obliged to follow the decisions of such
committees, they usually do.
´ The self-regulatory panels base their decisions on ethical principles contained in
codes of advertising ethics. The most influential codes are those established by the
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); ICC Codes are followed by advertising
bodies in over 30 countries. The ICC Codes are based on the core principles of
legality, decency, honesty, and truthfulness in all marketing communications.
Advertisers should start taking responsibility of self-regulating their ads by;
1. Design self-regulatory codes in their companies including ethical norms, truth, decency,
and legal points.
2. Keep tracking the activities and remove ads which don’t fulfill the codes.
3. Inform the consumers about the self-regulatory codes of the company.
4. Pay attention on the complaints coming from consumers about the product ads.
5. Maintain transparency throughout the company and system.

When all the above points are implemented, they will result in:
´ making the company answerable for all its activities
´ will reduce the chances of getting pointed out by the critics or any regulatory body.
´ will help gain confidence of the customers, make them trust the company and their
products.
Examples of Objectionable Advertising
This advertisement below appears to be aimed at men and contains a mocking and
patronizing reference to young housewives. In its time, such an advertisement was probably
considered by many to represent light-hearted humor, but today it would be considered
offensive by many viewers. The unstated implication is that men are breadwinners while
women are weepy and emotional homemakers. By contemporary standards, the Schlitz ad is
overtly sexist.
´ The ad below is attempting to be humorous by employing an absurd image, a baby
shaving itself. The ad is also trying to make the point that the new Gillette safety razor
is so safe that even a baby could use it without harm. There also may have been an
intention to create an association between the smoothness of a baby’s skin and the
closeness of the shave provided by the razor. While it is not possible that a baby
would be influenced by an advertisement, it is not inconceivable that a small child of
five or six years of age might be encouraged by this advertisement to play with a
razor.
The ad below suggests that one acceptable way to enjoy the smoking experience is to smoke
in the company of one’s spouse and children. In 1964, the government of US formulated a
series of regulations aimed at the tobacco industry. According to Health Cigarette Smoking
Act in 1970 banned all cigarette advertising on television and radio. In 1999, billboard
advertising of tobacco products was banned. In 2010, tobacco companies were prohibited
from sponsoring athletic, musical, or artistic events, and from featuring their logos on
apparel.