24239373-Ethical-issues-in-Advertising (2)

Ethical issues in Advertising

Nisha Goyal

Rakesh Singh

Advertising• Advertising is a form of communication

that attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or services

• Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, and the internet

INTRODUCTION• There is no doubt that advertising attracts all of us

in number of ways, but• there are also number of controversies associated

with advertising• Generally, these controversies are concerned

about the impact of advertising on economy, society and ethics

ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN MODERN BUSINESS WORLD

Advertising is primarily a means by which sellers communicate to prospective buyers.

What they communicate?

“The worth of their goods and services”

Contd…

ADVERTISING AND SOCIETY

• Advertisements are not just the sellers• They reflect the society• Whatever is used in society is reflected in advertisinge.g. o Indian society is highly family oriented (example ads:

savings for children, daughter’s marriage)o Indian society is people-oriented, and not self-orientedo For the sake of our family and others, we Indians can

postpone our own gratificationo We are also fun loving (example ads: Lux, Coke,

Denim Jeans etc)

ETHICS IN ADVERTISING• Should not mislead the consumer • What it promises must be there in the performance of

products• Ad should not be indecent and obscene• As advertising is also a social process, it must honor the

norms of social behavior, and should not offend our moral sense

• ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) regulates the advertising in India has the set guidelines

ASCI GUIDELINES• To ensure the truthfulness and honesty of representations and

claims made by advertisements and to safeguard against misleading advertising.

• To ensure that advertisements are not offensive to generally accepted standards of public decency.

• To safeguard against indiscriminate use of advertising for promotion of products which are regarded as hazardous to society or to individuals to a degree or of a type which is unacceptable to society in large.

• To ensure that advertisements observe fairness in competition so that consumers need to be informed on choices in the market place and the canons of generally accepted competitive behavior in business are both served.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING

Advertising is a highly visible business activity and any lapse in ethical standards can often be risky for the company.

Some of the common examples of ethical issues in advertising are give below:

• Vulgarity/Obscenity used to gain consumers’ attention• Misleading information and deception • Puffery • Stereotypes • Racial issues• Controversial products (e.g. alcohol, gambling, tobacco etc)

Comparative Advertising

• Comparative advertising is advertising where one party advertises his goods or services by comparing them with the goods or services of another party. Other party is usually his competitor or the market leader of that good or service

Comparative AdvertisingExplanation:-• Don’t make fun of your competitors

products. comparative advertising was either negative or positive. Negative comparative advertising featured the advertised brand derogating the comparison brand (I'm OK, you're not OK). Positive comparative advertising claimed superiority over the comparison brand in a no derogatory manner (You're OK, I'm more OK).

Social Advertisement • It is a process fro influencing

humam behaviour on a large scale,using marketing. principles for the purpose of social benefit rather than for commercial profit.

• Social advertisiment sells a behaviour change to a targeted group of individuals

Features • non commercial

• aimed fro societal benefit

• performed by goverenment, NGOs, or big corporate

• use of big and popular people

Advantages

• helps in changing the attitude of the people of the society

• helps change/improve the reputataion of the company

Social Causes• Quit smoking• Don’t smoking• Polio• EnvironmentExamples:-• wear a life safety jacket while

boating• pregnant woman should avoid

alcohol• wear car seat belts which

reduces injuries in accident• if you smoke than quit

Puffery• Advertising or other sales representations,

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

• Using claims or descriptions to exaggerate (“puff up”) a product’s reputation or appeal

1. New2. Unique3. Extra-strength4. Super-strength

Deception in Advertising• Promotional techniques (such as

attraction and switch pricing) designed to influence buyers with false or misleading claims

• Many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or misleading advertising

Deceptive PracticesExample:-

Companies may advertise sales at50% off. However, the companyfirst marks the product way up andthen marks them down 50% so thatthey still make a profit

PenaltiesCase & Desist orders:-

• The FTC can make a company pull an ad or stop a deceptive marketing practice immediately. This also carries an $11,000 per day per ad penalty if a company violates the law again.

Civil Penalties• consumer redress, and monetary

remedies. This could include monetary payments of millions of dollars, to giving refunds to consumers who purchased the product Bans

• In really bad cases of deception, a company may be required to leave the industry

Taste & Advertising

• We all have our own ideas as to what constitutes good taste.

Unfortunately, these ideas vary so much that creating general guidelines for good taste in advertising is difficult.

Stereotyping• Stereotyping means over

simplified idea of the typical characteristics of a person or a thing

• Stereotyping is presenting a group of people in an unvarying pattern that lacks individuality.

• Gender Discrimination • Color Discrimination• Age Discrimination• Religious Discrimination

Ethical issues in Stereotyping

• This is an Ethical practice for the businesses to advertise the products by gender

• Business often uses the Age discrimination in advertising the product which is accurately made for the specific age group

• company’s Target some of the Religions by their product

Unethical issues in Stereotyping

• In advertising to criticize the gender and try to show that the males are more powerful or women are more intelligent personalities

• Chocolate candy is favorite for children or young age fellows. targeting the old age people

• if your advertising is directly Hitting the other religions this practice of advertising

Advertising to Children• Advertising to children is the act

of marketing or advertising products or services to children, as defined by national legislation and advertising standards

• Rules on advertising to children have largely evolved in recent years

• In the United Kingdom, Greece and Belgium advertising to children is restricted and in Quebec, Sweden and Norway advertising to children under the age of 12 is illegal.

Means of Advertising to Children

• Traditional media, TV, radio and print media.

• New media (internet and other electronic media)

• Packaging, in-store advertising, event sponsorship and promotions can also be means to advertise to children

Criteria's of their protection• not directly exhort minors to

buy a product or a service by exploiting their inexperience or credulity.

• not directly encourage minors to persuade their parents to purcase

• It shall not unreasonably show minors in dangerous situations

Tobacco Company Need kidsExample:-• There are several reasons why

tobacco companies target children and teenagers. In order to keep profits up, new customers need to be recruited to replace the thousands of smokers that die each day. Tobacco companies know that very few people begin smoking as adults; therefore, their best bets for these new customers are kids.

Thank You