Introduction
Advertising ethics is the application of the principles of ethics and moral concepts to the marketing communication functions of a firm. People, and society at large, are influenced by advertising and promotion.
A small child seeing his favourite hero flicking a cigarette in an advertisement will want to replicate the same. Considering this behavioural impact marketing communication has on unsuspecting individuals, advertising ethics is paramount.
What is Ethical Advertising?
Ethical advertising as a concept was developed to address public concerns that advertising falls short on moral grounds and does not stick to a meaningful limit in terms of what is correct or incorrect.
The aim of advertising and the character of advertising are inextricably linked to advertising ethics. Companies are often required to employ exaggeration to represent the quality of their product; nevertheless, the line between exaggeration and puffery is razor-thin.
Companies make exaggerated claims in an attempt to generate buzz, resulting in controversies. To keep all these in check, we need advertising ethics.
Advertising ethics refers to a set of well-defined standards that govern how the vendor and the buyer communicate.
Now let’s see the various ethical issues which marketers might face which will need to be kept in check while designing marketing communications.
Advertising Ethics-Various Issues
Some of the ethical issues which arise in marketing communications are as follows:
Puffery & Hype
When advertising rely on subjective assertions rather than objective ones, puffery and hype happen. Redbull's famous slogan, "It gives you wings," was hit with a $13 billion lawsuit, which included a $10 payment to every US consumer disappointed with the drink.
False Claims
This is self-explanatory, so I will directly delve into examples to make it more clear.
Fair & Lovely, which is owned by HUL, made news after a commoner expressed dissatisfaction with the brand's promises, which were skewed towards darker complexion and sparked a lot of debates, with people accusing Fair & Lovely of equating beauty with fairness.
To keep their clients, the corporation had to modify the product's name to Glow & Lovely and participate in numerous women empowerment events. Nivea's bio-slim compound, which claimed to shrink body size with regular use, was similar.
Surrogate Advertising
Industries that market regulated products such as cigarettes, alcohol, and beverages use this form of advertising. To avoid direct advertising of such products, the corporation hides behind a similar product name or advertise a completely different concept.
A famous example of this is the Number 1 Yaari of McDowell’s. It markets soda and bases that on friendship. Using messages that are not openly displayed as advertisements but are integrated into a storyline.
Stereotyping women
The most vulnerable sector of society that is mostly used by the small-minded advertisers, depicting women's modesty in a negative light, primarily in deodorants and condoms commercials, tarnishing women's image in society as a whole.
Such advertising contributes to sexism in society by promoting unfavourable stereotypes. The Axe effect, popularised by Axe advertising, depicted a man wearing deodorant enticing women with his scent. The corporation had to remove the ad off the air and pledge never to use swooning ladies in advertisements again.
With this in the back of our heads, let's now move to see some principles of advertising ethics.
Principles of Advertising Ethics
These are the principles of ethical marketing that will help a marketer to design an ethical and fruitful marketing communication strategy.
- Advertising and similar forms of communication should have a common purpose of truth and high moral standards in serving the public at large.
- In the generation and channelization of business data and related information to consumers and target masses, advertising ethics practitioners should commit to following the highest ethical standards.
- Advertisers should distinguish between advertising, corporate communication, and public relations from editorial pieces, news, and entertainment, both offline and online.
- In the interest of complete disclosure and transparency, advertisers should explicitly disclose all material factors, such as payment or receipt of a free product, as well as the identities of endorsers.
- According to the nature of the target audiences to which the commercials are intended, promotional techniques based on advertising ethics should treat purchasers equitably. Treatment should also be determined by the nature of the advertised item or service.
- While making various marketing communications, advertising ethics should never compromise the protection and personal privacy of its customers. The decisions made by ethical advertisers on how people's data can be used should be transparent.
- Advertisers should observe government and local rules surrounding marketing and advertising campaigns while strategizing promotional efforts with advertising ethics. They should also follow the industry's self-regulatory protocols for the purpose of advertising rehearsals.
- Ethical advertising and ad agencies in both the internet and offline worlds should conduct confidential investigations into the various moral and ethical issues that may arise. Additionally, diverse members of the ad design team should be permitted to express their ethical or moral reservations about a specific sort of ad campaign.
- There should be trust among advertising agencies, PR agencies, media suppliers, clients, and third-party service providers in advertising ethics procedures. The entire process should be founded on complete transparency and honesty in terms of business ownership, plans, compensations, discounts, and media incentives.
These are the main guidelines one should keep in mind while designing a marketing communication strategy. Is there an agency that looks if these are maintained? What if advertisements are violating ethical codes? Let us now look at ASCI.
Advertising Standards Council of India
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory body for the Indian advertising sector. ASCI was founded in 1985 and is a non-profit organisation under Section 25 of the Company Act.
Almost all professions have self-regulatory organisations that oversee their operations. There was none for the advertising industry until 1985. There was a lot of false, deceptive, and offensive advertising as a result of this.
People began to lose faith in advertising and started disliking it. It was decided that if this continued, statutory regulations, such as censorship, would be imposed on advertising content in no time.
The ASCI passed a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising in 1985. The goal of the code's adoption is to promote honest and decent advertising as well as fair competition in the industry.
It would also defend the rights of consumers and other parties involved in the advertising sector, including marketers, media, ad agencies, and those who assist in the design or placement of commercials. Citizens can raise complaints about advertisements with ASCI.
Conclusion
This brings us to the conclusion of the chapter on advertising ethics and the block on advertisements and promotions.