ETHICS IN ADVERTISING

BY - NEERAJ ATTRI & SANDEEP

OF
BBA 5th SEM
 Ethics in Advertising and Promotion

Ethics
Ethics:: Moral
Moral principles
principles and
and values
values that
that govern
govern the
the
actions
actions and
and decisions
decisions of
of an
an individual
individual or
or group
group..

AA marketing
marketing or
or Marketers
Marketers must
must
Not
Not all
all issues
issues promotion
promotion action
action decide
decide the
the
can
can be
be regulated
regulated may
may be
be legal
legal but
but appropriateness
appropriateness
not ethical
not ethical of
of their
their actions
actions
 WHAT IS ETHICAL ?

• The Golden Rule

– Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

• Professional Ethics
– Would this be viewed as proper by a panel of ad professionals?

• Personal Ethics
– Would I be comfortable explaining this to my mother?
 Advertising and Promotion Viewpoints

Provides
Provides information
information

Encourages
Encourages higher
higher standard
standard of
of living
living
((for
for))
Proponent
Proponent Promotes
Promotes competition
competition
arguments
arguments
Helps
Helps new
new firms
firms enter
enter aa market
market

Creates
Creates jobs
jobs

More
More propaganda
propaganda ((lies
lies)) than
than information
information
((against
against)) Creates
Creates unnecessary
unnecessary consumer
consumer needs
needs and
and
Critic
Critic wants
wants
arguments
arguments
Promotes
Promotes materialism
materialism,, insecurity
insecurity,,
and
and greed
greed

What is materialism?
 Advertising and Children

Children's
Children's TV
TV
Watching
Watching Behavior
Behavior

Children
Children ages
ages 2-11
2-11 80%
80% of of all
all advertising
advertising
watch
watch an
an average
average ofof targeted
targeted to to children
children
22
22 hours
hours of
of TV
TV per
per falls
falls in
in four
four
week
week and
and see
see 30,000
30,000 product
product categories:
categories:
commercials
commercials per
per year
year Toys,
Toys, cereal,
cereal, candy
candy &&
fast
fast food
food restaurants
restaurants
 Perspectives on Ads for Children

Advocates
Advocates Argue
Argue That
That Children
Children::

Lack
Lack the
the knowledge
knowledge and
and Cannot
Cannot differentiate
differentiate
skills
skills to
to evaluate
evaluate between
between programs
programs and
and
advertising
advertising claims
claims commercials
commercials

Marketers
Marketers Argue
Argue Children
Children::

Must
Must acquire
acquire skills
skills needed
needed
Must
Must learn
learn to function in the
to function in the
through
through socialization
socialization marketplace
marketplace
 Critiques
CRITIQUES OF ADVERTISING of
Advertising
• Promotes consumerism

• Creates unrealistic expectations / Encourages

dissatisfaction

• Manipulates people ( applies knowledge of psychology )

• Propagates stereotypes ( gender , ethnic )

• Includes offensive messages ( sex , controversy ,

profanity )

• Glamorizes unhealthy products ( tobacco , alcohol , fatty

food )

• Targets vulnerable groups ( children , uneducated )

• Makes misleading claims ( implies falsehoods without

stating )
 FALSE ADVERTISING

• Advertising that is simply untrue …

• Illegal and completely unethical

– Sony Pictures made up David Manning. Newsweek investigated

and Sony’s marketing department admitted they made him up

– Weight loss ads make “grossly exaggerated claims” – 40% made

at least one claim that was almost certainly false, while 55%
made a claim that was very likely false or lacked adequate
substantiation
 PUFFERY

• Positive , general claims that cannot be

proved or
disproved because they are a matter of
opinion

• Legal in most countries

• “ Advertising or other sales

representations , which
praise the item to be sold with
subjective opinions ,
superlatives , or exaggerations ,
vaguely and generally ,
and stating no specific facts .”

– Campbell’s Soup: America’s Favourite Food

– Nothing outlasts the Energizer battery
– Gillette: The best a man can get
 MISLEADING ADVERTISING

• Advertising that does not literally contain falsehoods ,

but which causes consumers to make false inferences

• Illegal if they are deemed / shown to produce inaccurate

beliefs among a significant percentage of consumers
(“ reasonable consumer ” standard )

• Strong risk of prosecution , penalties , remedial action

• Examples
– Strongly implied falsehoods
– Critical missing information
– Claim × knowledge interaction
 THE RISE OF STEALTH MARKETING

Presenting a new product or service by cleverly creating and

spreading “ buzz ” in an obtuse or surreptitious manner .
Some examples…

• Product placements: products placed within other conventional media

forms, such as movies and music videos

• Celebrity Marketing: Paying celebrity endorsements posing as unpaid

testimonials

• Viral Marketing: spreading the message via the Internet

• Brand Pushing: hiring actors to approach unsuspecting people in real

life
situations and slipping commercial messages
 ADVERTISING ETHICS :SOME QUESTIONS

Is it ethical to …

• Conceal the fact that something is a paid commercial message

(e.g. product placement )?

• Conceal the fact that an individual has been paid to use or promote
a product? (e.g. Seattle cell phone promo, chat room seeding)

• Is offensive?

• Fails to disclose that a product could be harmful?

• Use an ad that portrays stereotypes?

• Criticize a competitor’s product in your ad, even though you know

it is basically the same as your own?
 QUESTIONS TO ASK

Does the ad...

• Make unsubstantiated claims?
• Make false or misleading claims?
• Make unfair comparisons?

• Reinforce negative stereotypes?

• Damage people’s self-image / create insecurities?
• Target vulnerable groups?

• Create false wants and false hope?

• Manipulate people’s emotions?
• Drive demand for unnecessary purchases?

• Violate public standards of good taste?

 SOME WEBSITES

• www.commercialexploitation.org

• Media Awareness Network

www.media-awareness.ca

• Advertising Standards Canada

www.adstandards.com

• Canadian Advertising Research

Foundation http://www.carf.ca/
 GUIDELINES FOR COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

1. The intent should be to inform, not to discredit or attack

competitors.
Ads should emphasize the relative benefits of the featured
product
rather than the defects of rivals.

2. When a competitive product is named, it should be a significant

competitor. For example, it would be unfair to state “costs 40%
less
than Brand X” when Brand X has an insignificant share, while
other
leading brands are comparably priced.

3. The competition should be fairly and properly identified, but never

in
a manner or tone of voice that degrades the competitive product
or
service. Products should also be shown in comparable background
colour, setting, light.

4. Ads should compare similar properties of the product, feature to

 GUIDELINES FOR COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

5. If a competitive test is conducted, it should be done by an

objective
testing source, preferably an independent one.

6. The property being compared should be significant in terms of its

value of the product to the consumer. For example, comparison of
trivial ingredients, such as the salt used in the pickles served
on a
hamburger, should not be the subject of comparative comment.

7. Comparatives delivered through the use of personal testimonials

should not imply that the testimonial is more than the experience
of
one individual unless that individual represents a sample of the
majority viewpoint.

8. An advertiser cannot say through a third party testimonial what it

knows to be untrue. (e.g., "I think this product is so much more
effective than the leading brand".)
Economic Impact of Advertising

Effects
Effects on
on Consumer
Consumer Choice
Choice
••Differentiation
Differentiation
••Brand
Brand Loyalty
Loyalty

Effects
Effects on
on Competition
Competition
••Barriers
Barriers to entry
to entry
••Economies
Economies of
of scale
scale

Effects
Effects on
on Product
Product Costs
Costs and
and Prices
Prices
••Advertising as an expense that
Advertising as an expense that
increases
increases the
the cost
cost of
of products
products
••Increased differentiation
Increased differentiation
 ADVERTISING REGULATION VARY

It is important to know the legal situation in each country :

• Advertising of jeans is prohibited in Malaysia

(they are considered Western and decadent )

• Direct marketing is banned in some European countries

(it is considered an invasion of privacy )

• A contest promotion might be legal in one country,

but not in another
 Advertising as Offensive or in Bad Taste

OO bbjjeecti
ctioonnaabbllee SSexu
exuaall SShhoock
ck aaddss
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rodduucts
cts aappppeeaallss
Banned Dolce & Gabbana
ØIt is basically a Italian brand of
cloths.
Ø
ØThere is no fun of assaulting
woman in this advertisement.
Ø
ØIt has a negative impact on small
children's.
Ø
Banned Dolce & Gabbana
Banned Dolce & Gabbana
ØIs there any need of showing
violence ?
Ø
ØWhy the female used in the
advertisement is without
cloths ?
Objectionable Ads
ØFalse claims to rebuild giant
buildings.
Ø
ØSuffering of people are used to
make advertisement of own
services and products.
Objectionable Ads

ØIn this advertisement a terrorist

attack on world trade centre are
used to highlight the problem of
poverty.
Ø
Øsuch kind of advertisements made
by Mtv are objectioned as it
affects the sentiments of people
throughout world.
Ø
Ø
Ø
Objectionable Ads

ØAlthough it is a
advertisements to highlight
the problem of hunger but as
it affects the sentiments ,
it is banned.
Objectionable Ads
Objectionable Ads

ØIn this advertisement man

die because of high current
of battery.

ØThis is horror for

children’s & have bad effect
on the psycology.
Objectionable Ads

ØThere is need of being nude in

this advertisement.
Ø
ØIts has bad effect on the
brain of children’s.
Ø
Ø
Ø
Objectionable Ads

ØIt is against law because hurting

animals is against law of India.
Ø
Ø
Objectionable Ads

ØThis is a advertisement of footwear .

Ø
ØKilling a man is not required .
Ø
ØThis advertisement have a double meaning.
Objectionable Ads

ØThis is a advertisement of TIGER bear .

Ø
Objectionable Ads

ØThis is a advertisement of
cigarette.
Ø
ØIt promotes bad habit of
smoking.
Ø
ØWhat do mean by “spread a
little happiness”?
Ø
ØIt create an illusion in the
mind of people that cigarette
smoking gives happiness.
Ø
Sex Sells… Should it?

ØWhy advertisers use sex as a

medium to increase sales of there
products?
Ø
Øfemales should not be used as
dummies.
Ø
Ø
Sex Sells… Should it?
ØThis is a advertisement of COFFEE.
Ø
Øwhat is the fun of being nude in
this advertisement.
Ø
ØPeople cannot see such kind of
advertisements in front of family.
Ø
ØThese kind of advertisements make
a family difficult to watch t.v
together.
Sex Sells… Should it?
ØWhy to be nude?
Ø
Ø

This is an ad for toilet paper

Objectionable Ads
ØThese kind of advertisements
spoil mind of children’s.
Ø
Øwhy to make use of it to increase
the sale of products.
Ø

Does nudity in this ad help make a point?

 Test Your Knowledge

Advertisers are using shock advertising to:

A) Test their First Amendment rights
B) Get ads noticed in the midst of clutter
C) Make a statement against self-regulation
D) Test the ethics of the advertising industry
E) Act as advocacy ads for company management
Social and Cultural Consequences

DD ooeess aaddve
verti
rtisi
sinngg
eennco
couuraraggee materialism?
materialism?

Does
Does advertising
advertising makemake
people
people buy
buy things
things
they
they don
don’’tt need?
need?

Is
Is advertising
advertising just
just
aa reflection
reflection of
of society?
society?
 Advertising and Stereotyping

Portrayal
Portrayal of
of women
women to
to reflect
reflect
their
their changing role in society
changing role in society

Gender Portrayal
Portrayal of
of
Gender Criticisms
Criticisms of
of women as
stereotyping
stereotyping Advertising women as
Advertising sex
sex objects
objects
With
With Regard
Regard to
to
Stereotyping
Stereotyping

Ethnic
Ethnic
Sexual
Sexual orientation
orientation stereotyping
stereotyping//
representation
representation
What is your opinion of this ad?

Is
Is this
this woman
woman portrayed
portrayed as
as
aa sex
sex object?
object?

Does
Does this
this ad
ad contain
contain
cues
cues that
that are
are sexually
sexually
suggestive?
suggestive?

Does
Does this
this ad
ad present
present an
an
image
image of
of sexual
sexual
submissiveness?
submissiveness?
Do TV Networks Have a Double Standard?
DO TV NETWORKS HAVE DOUBLE STANDARDS ?
How women are portrayed in advertising
Dove Challenges the Norms of Beauty
 Test Your Knowledge

Groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) are

critical of advertising that:
A) Portrays women in traditional sexist roles
B) Contributes to violence against women
C) Is insulting to women
D) Stereotypes women
E) Does any of the above
Subliminal Advertising

 Subliminal- To reveal a
message without a
person knowing or being
aware
Subliminal Advertising
Subliminal Advertising
Subliminal Advertising

We ’ re just as excited as you are

Subliminal Advertising
Do Advertisers Control the Media?

Advertising
Advertising is
is the
the primary
primary source
source of
of
revenue
revenue for
for newspapers
newspapers,, magazines
magazines,,
television
television and
and radio
radio

Media
Media’’ss dependence
dependence on
on advertising
advertising
for
for revenue
revenue makes
makes them
them vulnerable
vulnerable to
to
control by advertisers
control by advertisers

Advertisers
Advertisers maymay exert
exert control
control over
over
the
the media
media by by biasing
biasing editorial
editorial
content
content, limiting coverage of
, limiting coverage of certain
certain
issues
issues,, or
or influencing
influencing program
program
content
content
ADVERTISING CAN ADRESS SOCIAL PROBLEMS
U.S. Government Discourages Drug Use
Advertising Can Address Social Problems
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE DRINKING
Role of Advertising in the Economy

Makes
Makes consumers
consumers aware
aware of
of
products
products and
and services
services

Provides
Provides consumers
consumers with
with
information
information to
to use
use to
to make
make
purchase
purchase decisions
decisions

Encourages
Encourages consumption
consumption,,
fosters
fosters economic
economic growth
growth
 ADVERTISING SELF-REGULATION

Self - discipline

• In-house review procedures within agencies

• Includes vetting by legal team to ensure claims are

verifiable and unlikely to mislead

Industry self - regulation

• In the U.S., the National Advertising Review Council

(a joint venture of the BBB and local advertiser
associations) negotiates voluntary withdrawal of ads
deemed to be deceptive
 CONCLUSION

ØAdvertisers should make advertisements keeping in mind the ethics of

advertisements .They must keep in mind that society is influenced by
there advertisements ,so it is there responsibility to make responsible
ads which a family can watch by sitting together. Advertisements has great
impact on the mind of children's so, its should me made in such a way
that it should increase there innovativeness & not to spoil there life by
diverting there attention.