Oh, the exciting world of advertising. To some, it’s entertaining and to others, annoying. The connection between brands and their consumers through a creative platform is rather interesting. Of course, businesses want their products to generate sales, exceeding those of its competition. The methods they follow to persuade consumers to buy their products could be viewed under the structure of different ethical theories. The Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on advertisers and has continued to regulate the advertisements in order to ensure that they maintain an honest representation of a particular product. But honestly, how many of you believe 100% of the advertisements you see? Serious question.
So let’s focus on some common ethical theories and apply them to a few advertisements, shall we? First, I would like to look at the theory of Emmanuel Kant. His perspective basically insisted that actions have true moral worth only when they spring from good will (Bufkins). This theory could be applied to the
Dove Real Beauty campaign. The idea was to represent different ideas of beauty conveyed through what would generally be considered a personal flaw. I’ve been a fan of this campaign since the beginning and Dove has been very successful through implementing this idea of true beauty. The reason that Kant’s theory could be applied here is that this campaign is structured through good intentions. Dove wanted to make all women feel as if they were beautiful, regardless of what society has shaped opinions of beauty to portray. This particular strategy follows the structure of Kant’s theory.
Another theory, Egoism, states that an act is morally right if, and only if, it best promotes one’s self interest (Bufkins). This could be representative of an individual, organization or corporation. When an
ad for J.Crew was featured in the brand’s catalog, Jenna Lyons, J.Crew president and creative director, received tons of backlash following the ad. Viewers felt that the ad would persuade the child to be homosexual or transgendered. Susan Donaldson James of ABC News wrote an online article elaborating on the views of others. What’s interesting here is that Lyons applied an egoist perspective on the situation. She felt that there was no error in making the choice to feature herself alongside her son, regardless of the viewpoints and opinions of others.
I know that the idea of ethical advertising seems a bit suspicious, or maybe even comical to some, but businesses are constantly trying to build their relationship with consumers and looking for ways to develop brand loyalty by providing quality products to consumers. This is not an easy thing to accomplish, especially when a product may not be the best choice for the buyer to make. Products such as alcohol, weight-loss products and unhealthy food choices can easily fall victim to an unethical approach of advertising.
This week in my journalism ethics class, the argument came up about whether or not we should blame brands versus parents on the overall health of today’s children. This particular argument focused on cereal aimed at a young audience. On one side, the idea that brands use cartoons and toy prizes to lure children into consuming sugary cereals. On the other hand, many classmates believed that the parents represented the ultimate decision-maker when choosing what their children consume.
Personally, I believe that parents have a major influence on what they buy their kids as well as what their children are being exposed to. Of course, advertisers with a younger target audience are strategically placing their advertisements through various mediums, which focus more so on children’s programming, and children are the masters of persuasion when it comes to getting what they want (or at least I was). But when it comes to making a choice of what to purchase and consume, that decision is that of the adult, not the child. In this instance, I would not blame advertisers.
Which brings me to my next point.
Considering all of the advertisements that consumers are exposed to daily (about 3000), it is still the individual’s choice to decide whether or not he or she would ultimately make the purchase. The main goal of advertising is to influence a buyer’s decision (obviously), but at the end of the day, it is the consumer’s choice. So should we point fingers at the businesses out to make an extra buck or at ourselves as consumers?
Until next time my friends.
An Ad Major.
Sources
Samra Bufkins – JOUR 4470 Class Notes
Dove - http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx
J.Crew - http://abcnews.go.com/Health/crew-ad-boy-painting-toenails-pink-stirs-transgender/story?id=13358903#.T0c0kL_wOJo
