“Become a Hero” case study

1. Introduction

In June 2016, the Greek National Centre of Blood Donation, released a TV spot,

because of the World Blood Donor Day, as part of its social campaign to encourage

people to donate blood, named “Become a Hero”. The one-minute and twenty seconds

TV spot featured a firefighter saving a kitten, a lifeguard saving a girl from drowning

and a doctor along with two nurses saving a man’s life. These actions were depicted

as heroic and received the appraisal of the rest of the people in the TV spot. The key

message of the spot was that “You can become a hero, too”, by donating blood. The

main protagonist, that is a witness to all these instances, is encouraged in the end to

become a hero, and donates blood (please refer to Appendix A for the video link).

Following its launch, the TV spot received a huge backlash and caused mixed

reactions among the audience, mainly because of the oversexualized depiction of the

nurses (please refer to Appendix A). It was deemed as sexist with anachronistic

stereotypes by the General Secretary of Equality in a lengthy response called “Rhesus

Female”, as degrading to their occupation by the Health Workers Association of

“Venizelio” Hospital in Heraklion, Crete, and as obscene by social media users. The

National Centre of Blood Donation responded to these accusations by saying that this

TV spot provides a different, fresh and satirical way to encourage people to become

heroes by donating blood, saving up to three lives, which is the main goal and the

message of the whole campaign (for the articles that describe the reactions please

refer to Appendix B). This situation raises a very important question, which will be
 Migkou 2

analyzed thoroughly in this paper; is it ethical, or to what extend is it ethical to use

sexism in a social campaign, if it is for the promotion of the common good? This

question will be examined through the Utilitarian theory and Kant’s Categorical

Imperative, and through the TARES test, focusing more on the Truthfulness, Respect

and Social Responsibility principles, while applying principles from the Sissela Bok’s

decision model.

1.1 What are the issues?

Besides the main discussion of whether the use of sexist stereotypes is excused if

the purpose is for the common good, there are more ethical issues that are associated

with this case and need to be taken into consideration. To begin with, the National

Center of Blood Donation supported that while the message is important, the

humoristic execution was regarded as something positive among 70% of the public

opinion. However, “when framed in the context of humor, such stereotypes may

evade criticism and perpetuate prejudice” (Peters, Holmgreen, & Oswald, 2015,

p.160). In addition to this, being constantly exposed to sexist stereotypes normalizes

the stereotype. As a result, this “reinforces negative attitudes toward women and

prevents advances in their social status” (Peters et al., 2015, p.161). The choice of the

campaign creators to include a stereotypical portrayal of the female nurses, lessens the

importance of the work of the nurses, portraying them as being nothing more than the

doctor’s companion. This can be also encouraged by certain members of the society

because “research has indicated that sexist humor is pervasive and prominent among

individuals who hold implicitly prejudiced attitudes” (Peters et al., 2015, p.163),

making this problem even bigger. Nevertheless, the question remains the same; from

an ethical viewpoint, is “humoristic” sexism in social campaigns justifiable, if it is for

the common good?

 Migkou 3

2. “Become a Hero”; A Media Ethics Approach

2.1 Application of the Utilitarian Theory

Utilitarianism is the philosophical approach, which was introduced by Jeremy

Bentham and John Stuart Mill, that supports that “the consequences of actions are

important in deciding whether they are ethical” (Patterson & Wilkins, 2014, p.10).

According to this theory, any action is justifiable, should it benefit the greatest

number of people, making the results of an action subject to discussion.

If the Utilitarian theory is applied in this case study, it seems at first that it is

ethical to use anachronistic stereotypes, because a very important cause is promoted,

that will help a great number of people. It doesn’t matter if a part of the population

acts negatively towards it because “in utilitarian theory, no one’s happiness is any

more valuable than anyone else’s, and definitely not more valuable than everyone’s”

(Patterson & Wilkins, 2014, p.13). Furthermore, many people view sexist depictions

in TV spots and advertisements in general as “just a joke” (Peters et al., 2015, p.165),

and one could support that “the lighthearted aspect of humor may allow for successful

advertisement through the elicitation of positive emotions” (Peters et al., 2015, p.161).

Therefore, since the sexist stereotypes in the “Become a Hero” campaign are viewed

as lighthearted jokes, which can further promote blood donation, the use of these

stereotypes is justifiable and ethical.

However, the use of the sexist stereotypes does not only help spreading the

campaign’s cause. There are many consequences of gender stereotypes on women,

 Migkou 4

which they experience on their daily lives (Huhmanna & Limbu, 2016). According to

Peters et al. (2015), the negative attitudes towards women are encouraged through the

exposure to stereotypes, having implications not only in women’s advances in their

social status, but also promoting hostile behaviors towards them. Moreover, the

presence of sexist stereotypes discourages people from speaking, fearing that they

may be ridiculed (Peters et al., 2015). Generally, research has shown that exposure to

sexism is psychologically harmful for women, leading to anger, anxiety, discomfort,

depression, and low self-esteem (Peters et al., 2015). Therefore, it is safe to conclude

that even though the “Become Hero” campaign has the potential to help a great

number of people, it has also the potential to harm a great number of people.

The Utilitarian theory has many criticisms. One of them is that it is challenging to

accurately measure and anticipate all the consequences of a specific act (Patterson &

Wilkins, 2014). If the number of people that were influenced by this TV spot and

donated blood is greater than the number of women that were negatively affected by

the sexism in the TV spot, then, according to the Utilitarian theory, the act of using

sexist stereotypes is ethical. If the number of women that were negatively affected is

greater than the number of people that donated blood because of the spot, then the act

is unethical.

2.2 Application of Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Immanuel Kant developed a theory, which is called Categorical Imperative and

according to it, “it is in the act itself, rather than the person who acts, where moral

force resides” (Patterson & Wilkins, 2014, p.10). This theory is expressed in two

ways; the first is that people should never be used as a means to end and the second is

that every person should act as if his or her action could become universal law. The
 Migkou 5

name Categorical Imperative suggests that these two demands are “universal and not

subject to situational factors” (Patterson & Wilkins, 2014, p.9).

As opposed to the Utilitarian theory, Kant’s Categorical Imperative suggests that

in determining whether an action is moral, the consequences are irrelevant. Therefore,

it is not the outcome of the “Become a Hero” campaign that will be examined, but the

act of using sexist stereotypes itself.

Sexism has many negative effects, as it was mentioned in chapter 2.1. By

oversexualizing women and depicting them as being dependent on a seemingly

dominant male figure (please refer to Appendix A), the campaign creators use

women’s sexuality as a means to an end. Moreover, one of the arguments of the

people that were in favor of this TV spot, including the National Centre of Blood

Donation, was that because it was for a good cause, it should be taken lightly. Had

this been a TV advertisement with the purpose of increasing profit, the reactions

would have been vastly different, shaming the campaign creators for oversexualizing

women in order to increase their income. Therefore, the act itself is not universal and

the reactions to this act depends on situational factors. The “Become a Hero”

campaign fails to fulfil the two demands that were expressed above. Therefore,

according to Kant’s Categorical Imperative, the act of using stereotypes in the

“Become a Hero” campaign if not ethical.

2.3 Application of the TARES test

The TARES test is “a checklist of questions that the creators of every persuasive

message should ask themselves to determine the ethical worthiness of the message”

(Patterson & Wilkins, 2014, p.56). It consists of five key principles: Truthfulness,

Authenticity, Respect, Equity and Social Responsibility. The “Become a Hero” case
 Migkou 6

study will be examined using the Truthfulness, Respect and Social Responsibility

principles.

It is important to mention that the TARES test was primarily designed for

product and service advertisements and not for social campaigns. Nevertheless, the

TV spot of the “Become a Hero” campaign has a persuasive nature, and according to

Baker and Martinson (2001) the TARES test provides the moral boundaries of

persuasive communication, as well as the principles that need to be taken into

consideration, when making a moral decision in persuasion.

To begin with, the first thing that needs to be considered is if the depiction of the

nurses is truthful. Does it communicate a distorted version of the truth or create a false

image? The oversexualization of the female nurses suggests that it does. This is the

first fail of the test, as sexist attitudes reflect bad and deceptive choices regarding the

message. According to philosopher Sissela Bok, deception causes violence to the

society and its members (Baker & Martinson, 2001). This is evident if one thinks the

negative effects that the constant exposure to sexism has on women (Peters et al.,

2015).

Secondly, the next question that needs to be asked is if the TV spot treats the

receiver with respect. The principle of respect simply means that “no professional

persuasion effort is justified if it demonstrates disrespect for those to whom it is

directed” (Baker & Martinson, 2001). The depiction of the nurses, with their shirts

being unbuttoned and being the companion of the doctor, looking at him lustfully

(please refer to Appendix A), shows disrespect to the nurses that do a very demanding

job under problematic circumstances. This decision not only lacks respect towards the

nurses, but also empathy. As a result, according to Bok’s decision model, which
 Migkou 7

suggests that one of the two premises of making moral decision is having empathy for

the people that are involved (Patterson & Wilkins, 2014), the decision of using an

oversexualized and stereotypical portrayal of the nurses is the second fail of the test.

Finally, the last question that needs to be asked is if the “Become a Hero”

campaign is socially responsible. According to Baker and Martinson (2001) the

persuaders that follow this principle would not promote causes or ideas that they

know to be harmful to the society and/ or to individuals. Persuaders need to consider

the public good. This should not be confused with Utilitarianism, that suggests that an

act is morally good if it benefits the greatest number of people. An ad or a campaign

is socially responsible if there are some groups in the society that would benefit from

that campaign, without harming other groups in the society. As it was explained in

chapter 2.1, even though the campaign is for a good cause, it harms a big part of the

society. Therefore, the “Become a Hero” campaign fails the third principle that was

discussed.

By failing the three out of five principals of the TARS test it is concluded that the

“Become a Hero” campaign is not ethically worthy.

3. Conclusion

To conclude, I believe that the “Become a Hero” TV spot should not have been

aired, as it doesn’t abide by the TARES test and it doesn’t benefit the common

interest. To mask sexism as a joke, or as something that it is acceptable when it is for

the common good, is unacceptable in the century that we live in, and completely

opposed to Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Exposure to sexism has multiple negative

 Migkou 8

implications, that certainly don’t benefit our society. Therefore, in my opinion it is not

ethical to use sexism for the greater good. This could have been prevented if the

campaign creators applied a decision model or the TARES test, which could have led

to other, less offensive and provocative creative executions, while promoting the

significant cause of blood donation.

Word Count: 2079

 Migkou 9

References

Baker, S., & Martinson, D. (2001). The TARES Test: Five Principles for

Ethical Persuasion. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16, 148-175.

doi:10.1207/S15327728JMME1602&3_6

Huhmann BA, Limbu YB. Influence of gender stereotypes on advertising

offensiveness and attitude toward advertising in general. International Journal of

Advertising. 2016;35(5):846-863. doi:10.1080/02650487.2016.1157912.

Patterson, P., & Wilkins, L. (2014). Media Ethics: Issues and Cases (8th ed.).

Mc Graw Hill Education.

Peters, N., Holmgreen, L., & Oswald, D. (2015). It’s Just a Joke: Reactions to

and Justifications for Sex Stereotypes in Advertisements. Psi Chi Journal of

Psychological Research, 20(3), 160–168.

https://doi-org.acg.idm.oclc.org/10.24839/2164-8204.JN20.3.160
 Migkou 10

Appendix A

 Video Link
http://ekea.gr/%CF%84%CF%8E%CF%81%CE%B1-%CE%BC%CF%80%CE%BF

%CF%81%CE%B5%CE%AF%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE

%B5%CF%83%CF%8D-%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE

%B5%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%AE%CF%81%CF%89%CE%B1%CF%82/

 Stills from the TV spot

Migkou 11
 Migkou 12

Appendix B

Below there are 2 articles in Greek that fully describe the reactions to the “Become a

Hero” TV spot.

 http://www.toperiodiko.gr/%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%AE

%CE%BC%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%B7-%CE%B5%CE%B8%CE%BD%CE

%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CF%8D-%CE%BA%CE%AD%CE%BD%CF

%84%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%BF

%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1-2/#.XP2kQIgzbIW

 https://www.iatropedia.gr/eidiseis/sta-akra-antiparathesi-tis-ene-ethniko-

kentro-aimodosias-gia-epimacho-spot/59276/
Migkou 13