ETHICS IN

ADVERTISING
A s s t . P r o f. S o n u C h e r i a n
 Marketers encounter constant tension between:

The competitive The fear of crossing

drive to develop the the line beyond what
most effective is legal, ethical, and
attention-grabbing socially acceptable
messages possible
 ETHICS IN ADVERTISING

• Ethics in advertising means a set of well defined principles which

govern the ways of communication taking place between the
seller and the buyer

• According to Vilhjalmur Stefansson ,”Ethical advertising uses the

truth to deceive the public whereas Unethical advertising uses
falsehoods to deceive the public”

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 ADVERTISING
Advertisements that are
• Drive Desire for Unnecessary Products
• Deceptive
• Offensive
• Promote Unhealthy Products
• Attracting people to consume unhealthy products
• Create a Sort of Unsatisfied Society

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 WHY ‘ETHICAL’ ADVERTISING?

•Not to hurt sentiments of the society

•Maintain a code of conduct
•Avoid misrepresentation
•Adhere with social norms
• Social acceptance
•Helps in image building

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 Targeting Vulnerable Groups

Children Elderly

Targeting
Vulnerabl
e Groups

Developing
Minorities
Countries
 ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING

• Concealment of Facts
• Advertisements Using Children
• Dangerous Stunts
• Usage of Inappropriate Stereotypes
• Subliminal Advertising- communicate more indirect messages than
direct messages.

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 ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING
• Manipulative Advertising
• Puffery- exaggerated or false praise.
• Glorifying Glamorous Looks
• Surrogate Advertising- substitute - done mainly in the tobacco and
liquor industry
• Improper Language Usage
• Obscene advertisements: nudity, indecent images in advertisements

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ADVERTISING AND UNTRUTHFUL OR DECEPTIVE

General mistrust of advertising

among consumers. Many do not perceive
ads as honest or believable

Abuses involving sales promotions such as

contests, premium offers

Unethical and/or deceptive practices

involving mail order, telemarketing and other
forms of direct marketing

Internet scams and abuses

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 ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING
Drive Desire for unnecessary
products Offensive products

• Image source: • Image source: http://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-

www.deccanchronicle.com sexist-and-racist-ads-2011-6?IR=T#now-see-some-ads-that-
arent-degrading-and-offensive-27
 ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING

Deceptive Advertisement puffery

Image Source: http://reviews.financesonline.com/the-art-of-deceptive-advertising-reviewed/

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 Advertising and Children
Children's TV
Watching Behavior

Children ages 2-11 80% of all advertising

watch an average of targeted to children
22 hours of TV per falls in four
week and see 30,000 product categories:
commercials per year
Toys, cereal, candy &
fast food restaurants
 ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING
Advertisements using Children Dangerous Stunts
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES

Does advertising
encourage materialism?

Does advertising make people

buy things
they don’t need?

Is advertising just
a reflection of society?

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ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ADVERTISING

Effects on Consumer Choice

• Differentiation
• Brand Loyalty

Effects on Competition
• Barriers to entry
• Economies of scale

Effects on Product Costs and Prices

• Advertising as an expense that increases the
cost of products
• Increased differentiation

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 CONT..
Promote Unhealthy Products
.
Create a sort of unsatisfied
Surrogate Advertising society
 CONT..
Manipulative
.
Glorifying Glamorous looks
 CONT..
Usage of inappropriate . Subliminal Advertising
Stereotypes
 CONTROLLING BODY TO CHECK ETHICAL ISSUES IN
INDIAN ADVERTISING

• Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)

• Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI)

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 ADVERTISING STANDARD COUNCIL OF INDIA
• Advertising Standard Council of India.
• Self Regulatory Organization (SRO)
• The objectives of ASCI are to make sure advertisers and
advertisements are
• Truthful and Honest
• Not offensive
• Not hazardous to society
• Fair with competitors

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THANK YOU
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