Ethics are the moral principles and values that govern an individual or group. Critics of advertising claim that the industry overall does not adhere to clear ethical standards. They say it lacks a strong code of professional conduct and does not always distinguish correctly between what is morally right and wrong, instead focusing solely on making money. This can become a very gray area because, unlike a legal issue where the law clearly states what can and cannot be done, the area of ethics is far more subjective.
The criticisms of advertising as unethical range from advertising cigarettes that are known to cause cancer, to implying that the use of a particular perfume will bring hordes of admirers to your doorstep, to claiming that a sugar-coated cereal is “part of a nutritious breakfast” for children when only the accompanying milk or toast has any nutritional value. In some cases, legal issues do become involved. The use of excessive glue or paint to make a product look more appetizing in a TV commercial is not only unethical, it is also illegal. Similarly, there are legal restrictions on the advertising of sweepstakes or lotteries, both of which have been criticized for misleading innocent consumers into believing they have won large monetary prizes.
The question of advertising ethics is clearly linked with the question of the nature and purpose of advertising. Most people can understand that advertisements, at the very least, take liberties with the “truth.” This practice of using exaggerations that consumers will know are factually false is known as advertising puffery. Most women understand, for example, that they will not look like the models in the commercials simply by buying Salon Selectives hair shampoo. Businessmen realize that when they travel, American Airlines does not literally provide “something special in the air.” The use of puffery does not mean that any of those brands is unethical in its advertising. It would only become so if Salon Selectives guaranteed that use of its product would really turn you into a model.
Ultimately, advertising ethics depend to a large extent on your beliefs about the purpose of advertising and your view of consumers. If you believe that consumers are rational, skeptical, and self-aware, and accept that advertising is designed to persuade the audience to think, feel, or act in a certain way in order to increase sales, then you will probably not find advertising inherently unethical in trying to get you to “Be like Mike” (Michael Jordan) and drink Gatorade, or “Have your break today” and eat at McDonald’s. On the other hand, if you think that consumers are completely innocent with regard to the ads they see, hear, or read, then you are likely to find advertising, by and large, to be unethical with its promises of leaner bodies, cleaner homes, faster cars, or money-saving credit cards.
The Vatican issued a 37-page text on “Ethics in Advertising” in which it emphasized the need for advertisers to adhere to three basic moral principles: truthfulness, upholding human dignity, and social responsibility. It noted that advertising in and of itself is not necessarily unethical, but that it “can distort the truth by implying things that are not so or withholding relevant facts.”33 Importantly, however, the report did not call for increased regulation of advertising; rather, it states that advertisers should work harder at monitoring themselves, with a view to remaining ethically responsible.
Unethical behavior does occur. The most common occasions are advertising to children and the promotion of controversial products such as alcohol, tobacco, and contraceptives.
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