Lyra Penelope O.

Oliquino BSM 1A

Activity on Lesson 1:
Look for 2 trivial or controversial advertisement, then identify whether it is ethical or not, then
explain your answers briefly.

1. Colt 45: Vava-vroom Real Man Promo

Colt 45 is an American brand and one of the strong leading beers in the country. The
commercial is about a guy on a beach who massages sexy actress Cristine Reyes in a
white bikini in a steamy commercial. Men might have enjoyed it, but women and
children might not have. The ad was supposed to be a promo wherein a lucky winner
would get a chance to spend a weekend getaway with Reyes. Instead, the ad came under
heavy criticism by the Philippine Commission on Women (PC), which said it reduced
women to mere commodities. Although the company defended the commercial, claiming
that the concept of winning a date with a celebrity isn't new, the commercial was later
withdrawn.

As we all know, America is a liberated country, whereas the Philippines is not. The brand
did not conduct adequate audience research. This commercial, in my opinion, is unethical
in terms of our country's core values because it failed to adhere to the values and culture
that we have instead it deviated from them. According to an article by Nicole LaMarco
for Chron, "Ethical advertising does not try to appeal to the most base of human
emotions, such as lust, greed, or fear," whereas the commercial does the opposite wherein
they preyed lust through sexual imagery. With that, they failed to establish a good image
for their company.
 2. EQ Diaper’s “Lapu-Lapu” Commercial (2013).

The commercial, which shows Lapu-Lapu challenging Ferdinand Magellan to a fight after he
disliked the diapers the latter gave him, did not sit well with members of the National Historical
Commission and the people of Lapu-Lapu City who condemned it as a mockery and distortion of
history. The outrage at the commercial later resulted in it being pulled off the airwaves by the
Advertising Board of the Philippines.

I remember seeing this commercial and thinking it was really funny, which is why I was
confused when I saw it on the list, but when I read the reason, I realized why. For this one, I
believe the brand was more concerned with attracting people's attention than with the ethical
aspects of the advertisement. With that, they created an unethical commercial that irked the
National Historical Commission because it misrepresented what happened in our history.
According to Management Study Guide, "an ethical ad does not lie, does not make fake or false
claims, and is within the bounds of decency," which is not demonstrated by the advertisement.

References

https://www.clickinsights.asia/post/5-most-controversial-filipino-commercials-that-were-banned
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-unethical-ethical-advertising-19262.html
https://filipiknow.net/controversial-advertisements-in-the-philippines/
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/advertising-ethics.htm