Advertising and Society

Ethics in advertising
objectives
 Discuss the shape-versus-mirror debate
 Analyze the legal topics that guide
advertising practice
 List the key regulatory agencies and their
responsibilities
 Explain the way the advertising industry
regulates itself
 Critique the key ethical issues that challenge
the practice of advertising
 Outline three ways to determine if an
advertising decision is ethical
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Advertising’s Societal Role

 Does advertising
create a
materialistic
culture or does it
simply reflect it?

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 Advertising
professionals
believe
advertising
mirrors values
rather than sets
them

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 Critics believe
that advertising
has the power
to shape social
trends and the
way people
think and act

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Review and Regulation of
Advertising
Copyright
Protection
 Trademark
 Copyright

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First Amendment

 Commercial
speech
 Only truthful
commercial
speech is
protected, not
misleading or
deceptive
statements

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Advertising’s Regulatory
Environment
Federal Trade Commission
 Regulating
 Deceptive
deception
advertising
 Regulating misleads
substantiation customers by
making claims that
 Remedies for
are false
deception and
unfair advertising

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Advertising’s Regulatory
Environment
Federal Trade Commission  The advertiser
 Regulating should have a
deception reasonable basis
for making a
 Regulating product claim
substantiation
 Remedies for
deception and
unfair advertising

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 Advertising’s Regulatory
Environment
Federal Trade Commission  Corrective
 Regulating Advertising
deception
 Regulating
substantiation
 Remedies for
deception and
unfair advertising

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Advertising Agency Legal Responsibility

 All advertising
should be legal,
decent, honest
and truthful.

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 Every advertisement should be
prepared with a due sense of social
responsibility and should conform to
the principles of fair competition, as
generally accepted in business.

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 Decency
Advertisements should not contain
statements or visual presentations which
offend prevailing standards of decency.

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 Honesty

Advertisements should be so framed

as not to abuse the trust of
consumers or exploit their lack of
experience or knowledge.

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Social Responsibility
 Advertisements should not condone any form of
discrimination, including that based upon race,
national origin, religion, sex or age, nor should
they in any way undermine human dignity

 Advertisements should not (without justifiable

reason) play on fear.

 Advertisements should not appear to condone or

incite violence, or to encourage unlawful or
reprehensible behavior.

 Advertisements should not play on superstition.

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Truthful presentation

 Advertisements should not contain any statement or visual

presentation which directly or by implication, omission,
ambiguity or exaggerated claim is likely to mislead the
consumer, in particular with regard to
 characteristics such as: nature, composition, method and
date of manufacture, range of use, efficiency and
performance, quantity, commercial or geographical origin or
environmental impact;
 the value of the product and the total price actually to be
paid;
 delivery, exchange, return, repair and maintenance;
 terms of guarantee;
 copyright and industrial property rights such as patents,
trade marks, designs and models and trade names;
 official recognition or approval, awards of medals, prizes
and diplomas;

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 Advertisements should not
misuse research results or
quotations from technical
and scientific publications.
 Statistics should not be so
presented as to exaggerate
the validity of advertising
claims.
 Scientific terms should not be
used to falsely ascribe
scientific validity to advertising
claims.

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Comparisons
 Advertisements
containing comparisons
should be so designed
that the comparison is
not likely to mislead, and
should comply with the
principles of fair
competition. Points of
comparison should be
based on facts that can
be substantiated and
should not be unfairly
selected.

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Advertising’s Regulatory
Environment
Food and Drug
Administration
 Oversees
package
labeling,
ingredient
listings, and
advertising for
food and drugs

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Federal Comm. Commission

 Can issue and

revoke licenses to
broadcasting
stations
 Can ban
messages that
are deceptive or
in poor taste.

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Advertising’s Regulatory
Environment

Other Regulatory Bodies

 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms
 States’ Attorneys General

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International Regulations

 Marketing practices vary in

legal and regulatory
restrictions.
 International advertisers
should have someone in the
country who knows the local
laws.
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Media Review of Advertising
 The media attempts to regulate
advertising by screening and rejecting
ads
 The First Amendment gives any
publisher the right to refuse to publish
 The Advertising Review Council designed
the standards and guidelines used by
major television networks

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Self-Regulation
 Self-discipline  Most advertisers
and agencies have
 Industry self- in-house review
regulation procedures
 Every element of a
 Self- proposed ad should
regulation be evaluated by an
with outside in-house
committee or
help lawyers

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Self-Regulation
 Self-discipline
 Industry self-  National Advertising
Review Council
regulation  National Advertising
Division
 Self-  National Advertising
regulation Review Board
 Negotiates voluntary
with outside withdrawal of
help deceptive advertising

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Self-Regulation
 Self-discipline
 Industry self-
regulation
 Self-  Local Groups
regulation  Consumer Groups
with outside
help
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Question to Ponder

Is self regulation really in the best

interests of the advertising industry?

Is self regulation motivated by

benevolence or business sense?

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Advertising Ethics
 A set of moral  Six key issues
1. Poor taste and
principles that offensive advertising

guide actions 2. Stereotyping

3. Body and self image
and create a 4. Targeting children

sense of 5. Misleading claims and

other message
responsible strategies
6. Controversial
behavior products

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Advertising Ethics
Poor Taste/Offensive
 Advertisers and media
outlets must try to be
sensitive to consumer
objections
 Creating guidelines for good
taste is difficult
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Obscene language

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 Sex in advertising

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 Advertising Ethics
Reinforcing
Stereotypes
 Gender Roles
 Racial and Ethnic
Stereotypes
 Senior Citizens

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Advertising Ethics
Children
 One of the most
controversial topics in
the industry
 Children are unable to
evaluate advertising
messages and make
purchasing decisions

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Advertising Ethics
 Misleading
Claims
Advertising claims
are unethical if
they are false,
misleading, or
deceptive

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Advertising Ethics
Controversial
Products
 Though it is
acceptable to
advertise these
products, it is still
offensive to some

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Determining What is Ethical
 The social  The “Golden Rule”
 Social
ethic responsibility
 The motivates a
business to make a
professional positive impact on
ethic society

 The personal
ethic
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Determining What is Ethical
 The social  Industry standards
help with a decision
ethic about what is
ethically correct
 The
 A code of standards
professional identifies how
ethic professionals
should respond
 The personal when facing an
ethic ethical dilemma

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Determining What is Ethical
 The social  Personal judgment
and moral reasoning
ethic rests on an intuitive
sense of right and
 The wrong
professional  Advertising
ethic professionals must
be aware of industry
 The personal standards as well as
ethical questions
ethic
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