Hassell

Sophie Hassell
Professor Jizi
University Writing 1103
27 October 2015
Double Entry Journal
Citation:
"Ethics of Marketing." Sage Brief Guide to Marketing Ethics. Ed. Lisa Shaw. Los
Angeles: SAGE, 2012. 72-86. Print.
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)

Responses

When the words marketing ethics appear

in the general media, or business press, the
reports typically describes a marketing
strategy, tactic, or policy that some
constituency feels is unfair or exploitive
or deceptive (Page 72).

This sentence is very accurate. I have heard

more negative remarks about companies
unethical ways than ethical ways. An example
of this is Victorias Secrets love your body
campaign that got negative reviews for only
portraying unrealistic body types in their ads.

Therefore, marketing ethics is mostly

focused on marketing behaviors that are not
prohibited by the law but perhaps should not
be indulged due to certain moral
considerations (Page 76).

This means that companies are at liberty to

choose between being ethical and unethical.
Why might a company choose to be unethical
rather than promote truth and gain respect?

NASCAR has every legal right to have

their automobiles sponsored by and
festooned with the logos of brewers,
distillers, and other alcoholic beverage
makes. Whether it is ethical to link speeding
race cars to alcohol beverages given the
significant driving while intoxicated
problem that exists in the United States is a
matter for debate (Page 76).

This is very interesting. Depending on who

you ask you may get a different answer.
Personally, I do not think this is ethical
because so many people do die as a result of
drunk driving. But, this does not cross any
illegal issues therefore it is up to NASCAR to
determine if they want to be ethical or
unethical.

The key issue involved in targeting children Children are highly influenced by what they
turns on whether marketers should be help to see and hear so marketers should take this into
a higher standard care and caution when
consideration. This is an example of the fine
marketing to children (Page 77).
line between ethical and unethical marketing.

Hassell
the issue of consumer privacy is at the
forefront of marketing research ethics. It is
hoped that the coming decade will yield
definitive answers about the extent of
privacy protection that consumers can expect
when shopping online (Page 78).

As an avid online shopper I can say that my

information is not well protected. I often see
advertisements for websites I just visited on
completely different websites. I think the
future will bring scary news about how
minimally we are protected on the internet.

Too often marketers fail the safety test

(Page 79).

I believe that in the future this will change

because people will only want to buy products
that are safe. It is shocking to think that some
toys and products are not as safe as they claim
to be.

Various critics charge that advertising is

biased, needlessly provocative, intrusive,
and often offensive. Yet most surveys
suggest that the majority of consumers, on
the balance, find advertising both
entertaining and informative (Page 84).

I do not think advertisement will change much

because it has proven to be very effected.
People are drawn to advertisements that can
be portrayed as offensive or biased. Thats all
marketers want to do is capture your attention
and draw you to their product/company.

Keeping ethical marketing at the forefront

of operations is an exceedingly difficult
challenge given the constant pressures on
marketing managers to remain financially
successful and growing (Page 86).

This is very interesting. Companies are often

faced with doing the right thing or making the
most money. It will be interesting to see what
the future brings in the sense of if marketers
will continue to be all about making the most
money or if they change to being as ethical as
possible.

Hassell

Marketing ethics is a controversial issue in which there is not legal actions that can be
taken in most cases. Companies have the right to decide how they want to market their product
even if their methods are not just. Only in the recent years have marketing ethics entered the
business world. Marketing executives have the decision of being ethical or exploiting their
powers to make more money. Because profit is a huge component of any business, many
companies choose to use unethical and insincere tactics to make their product known. Misleading
images, marketing directly to children, and poorly judge ads are just some example of unethical
marketing. Dealing with punishment for such has not yet been established thus leaving the
decisions up to the company marketing their product.
Marketing ethics need to be understood before exploring the topic further. Because of
this, it is important that I read about the many components of marketing ethics to begin my
research. This chapter has provided me with the knowledge that marketing ethics is grey area
that may never be fully comprehended. People will always have different opinions when it comes
to how products are marketed. It is interesting how difficult it is to regulate marketing ethics
because no real laws have been implemented to control companies marketing strategies. This
book/chapter really helped me to understand exactly what I will be researching and pointed me
towards finding examples of unethical marketing campaigns.
This book is a very credible source. Published in 2012, Sage Brief Guide to Marketing
Ethics, provides a recent analysis and informative perspective on the ethics of business and
marketing. This book remains objective when providing the information, simply sharing
examples and providing important key terms. In the preface, the purpose of the guide is stated
to inform readers on marketing and business ethics, which it does.