ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING

Role of advertising in Modern business world

Advertising is primarily a means by which sellers communicate to prospective buyers.

What do they communicate??? The worth of their goods & services.

Advertising & its effects

Psychological effects
Scare resources Market power Creation of consumer desires Effects on consumer beliefs

All communication involve 3 elements: 1. The Authors 2. The Medium 3. The Audience

Deceptive advertising is a function of:

The authors intent to make the audience

believe what is known to be false.

The medias communication of false

message.
The audiences vulnerability to deception.

Unethical advertising
When it has degraded or underestimated the substitute or rivals product
When it gives a false or misleading

information about value of the product. When it fails to give useful information on the possible side effects of the product. When it is immoral.

Ethical Issues in Advertising

Misleading information & deception
Puffery Stereotypes Controversial products ( alcohol, tobacco) Vulgarity/ obscenity Surrogate advertising Exaggeration

Ethics in advertising means a set of well defined principles which govern the ways of communication taking place between the seller and the buyer

ASCI Guidelines
Ensure truthfulness & honesty of representations & claims made by advertisements. Safeguarding against misleading advertisements. Ensure they are not offensive o accepted standards of society To safeguard against any indiscriminate use of advertising which are regarded as hazardous to society. Ads observe fairness in competition

Framework of Advertising Ethics

Value- oriented framework

- honesty, privacy, transparency Stakeholder- oriented framework - consumers, competitors, society. Process- oriented framework - research, price, promotion, placement