Ethical Theories In Advertising Essay

1024 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dove real beauty campaign case study

Classical ethical theories in modern advertising
The advertising world has been given a bad rap when it comes to ethical practices. There is no question that advertising can be controversial, as advertisers seem to continually push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in society. It is common knowledge that an advertiser’s ultimate goal is to sell something. However, there are boundaries and the public will generally react negatively towards an advertisement if it is seen as offensive and discriminatory. Due to this, advertisers must consider classical ethical theories in their decision-making process when creating messages that the public will see.

One classical ethical theory that can be seen in advertising practice today is utilitarianism. Under utilitarianism, the only concern is for the greater good. This means that any decision or action that is taken should result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (Bivins, 2009). Numerous advertisements involving clothing and beauty products have been called out over the years for being discriminatory against women and self-serving for the company’s interests over society’s. Under utilitarianism, two brands stand out with their messages that promote happiness in the form of boosting self-esteem and redefining beauty among a large number of people in society.

One of the most famous examples is Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, which was launched in 2004 by Unilever. Dove promoted the act of defining “real beauty” and standing against superficiality that is dominant in the advertising industry today. In 2013, Dove released “Real Beauty Sketches,” which became the most watched advertisement ever.

In January, Aerie unveiled its “Real” campaign (which targets...

... middle of paper ...

... interest and well-being of the community with the individual. Both advertisements promote messages supporting the widely held belief that the use of thin models or photo-editing software is unnecessary, while simultaneously promoting the advancement of societal views: shaping how society views the woman as an individual and how she views herself privately and as part of society.

Although the examples here were few, classical ethical theories can be applied in every advertising situation. For advertisers, it is important to understand these theories in order to make informed and ethical decisions when communicating with your audience. Ethics don’t always give answers to moral problems and different ethical theories may apply to different advertising situations, but if advertisers use ethical practices, they can deliver their messages to society with more discretion.

Show More
Related

  • Feminist Consumerism And Fat Activist: Article Analysis

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    A certain value is put on commodities and services that in turn promote “consumption of products that encourages conformity to feminine beauty ideology”. (Johnston & Taylor, 2008) Media and advertising also immensely influences the way one looks at themselves and how much they compare their own beauty to the models on TV screens and in magazines. Through advertising, Dove promotes a movement to minimize institutionalized and structural gender inequality, and encourages the practise of self-care. Although its is makes great business sense, it is clear that their is a prioritization of commodity purchases above the overall message which creates brand loyalty. Dove shows mixed messages early on in their campaign as they are “telling women to buy creams, "slim" down, put on a bra and generally engage in… the "body project" (Essig, April 22, 2013) and “young girls started to worry far more about cellulite on their thighs than goodness in their hearts”.

    Read More

  • Charmin Toilet Paper Ad

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Advertisements are one of many things that Americans cannot get away from. Every American sees an average of 3,000 advertisements a day; whether it’s on the television, radio, while surfing the internet, or while driving around town. Advertisements try to get consumers to buy their products by getting their attention. Most advertisements don’t have anything to do with the product itself. Every company has a different way of getting the public’s attention, but every advertisement has the same goal - to sell the product. Every advertisement tries to appeal to the audience by using ethos, pathos, and logos, while also focusing on who their audience is and the purpose of the ad. An example of this is a Charmin commercial where there is a bear who gets excited when he gets to use the toilet paper because it is so soft.

    Read More

  • Political Persuasion Ethics: An Analysis of The Daisy Girl Ad

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    Michael R. Hyman; Richard Tansey; James W. Clark (1994). Research on Advertising Ethics: Past, Present, and Future: Journal of Advertising, Vol. 23, No. 3, Ethics in Advertising pp. 5-15.: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Documentary: Killing Us Softly 4 and the Role of Women in Advertising

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...

    Read More

  • The Impact of Morality, Religion, and Law Upon Advertising

    5090 Words  | 11 Pages

    Still, the matter of constitutional freedom of speech as applied to advertising has raised serious questions concerning control of sex and decency in advertising. Swedish courts, for example, have not sustained some initiatives of the Consumer Ombudsman in this matter; and the Swedish Parliament sta...

    Read More

  • Protein World's Are You Beach Body Ready

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Advertising is one of the most influential art forms on Earth. Everyday people come face-to-face with a multitude of ads: At this point, they are a part of who we are. We see ads on billboards and all over the internet. While many ads prove to be very successful, there are a huge amount that end up being highly unsuccessful. Although they may fail, a portion of ads become well known for the controversy they bring with them. One specific ad that got a lot of people talking was Protein World’s Are You Beach Body Ready? This ad did not work as intended because of its overall visualization, the standard it set for women, and the meaning behind the product.

    Read More

  • Whitney Thore's Influence On Body Image

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Seeing advertisements as art, however, is not what is always seen by society. People today may view an ad as being harmful and destructive to the mind. Victoria’s Secret for example “fails to celebrate the amazing diversity of women’s bodies by choosing to call only one body type 'perfect' @VictoriasSecret Apologize for Your Damaging Perfect Body Campaign #iamperfect) in their campaign that was hit with negative feedback. Victoria’s Secret plays a huge role in many young female adults and has a huge responsibility when it comes to making a positive impact on these

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty

    1839 Words  | 4 Pages

    Behind the Hype: Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign”. Street Cents: Episode 2(2005).http://www.cbc.ca/streetcents/guide/2005/02/s07_01.html 8. http://www.ogilvy.co.uk/ogilvy-advertising/index.php/2008/11/05/dpve-campaign-for-real-beauty-takes-silver-prize-at-the-ipa-2008-effectiveness-awards/ 9. Image Courtesy : Google Images.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dove's Real Beauty Campaign

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    As of the modern day, advertising is everywhere; it is on our televisions, we hear it on the radio and we see it on cars and trucks. Advertising can take many forms, one of which is propaganda. Propaganda techniques are useful in persuasion and drawing people to a certain cause, but mostly we hear of propaganda being used in times of war. However, the Dove’s Real Beauty campaign is a modern day example of propaganda that uses many known techniques of persuasion. This campaign is very prevalent in today’s society because it targets body image among women; more specifically, the campaign aims to positively change how women view themselves.

    Read More

  • Marketing Ethics: The Ethical Ethics Of Deceptive Advertising

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to generate sales, marketers often promote aggressively and uniquely, unfortunately, not all marketing advertisements are done ethically. Companies around the globe spend billions of dollars to promote new products and services and advertising is one of the key tools to communicate with consumers. Conversely, some methods that marketers use to produce advertisements and to generate sales is deceptive and unethical. Ethical issues concern in marketing has always been noted in marketing practice. According to Prothero (2008), ethics itself has a profound, varied and rich past. It emphasizes on questions of right and wrong or good and bad.

    Read More

  • Women and Advertisements

    2559 Words  | 6 Pages

    The media favors one women's body type; the tall blonde with perfect, tan skin and long, beautiful hair. Because the images of women in advertisements are unattainable, it keeps them purchasing new products in their quest to be like the models they see (Moore). The actual women in these advertisements can't even match up to the

    Read More

  • Advertising: Information or Manipulation?

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s difficult economy who can afford to spend their hard-earned money carelessly? Americans want good quality and low prices, and businesses that advertise their product make saving money possible. Advertising was created for one reason, so businesses could make known their product (Black, Hashimzade, and Myles). Some consumers may argue that advertising is not informative, but that it is manipulative because some advertisements make false claims. Fortunately, there are regulations and consumer rights that promote truth in advertising. Consumers must embrace their rights to keep advertising the way it is meant to be. Advertising is meant to be informative and not manipulative, and consumers play a great role in promoting truth in advertising.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Advertising

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1994, a new form of advertising and getting products and services into the world was discovered: the internet. Online advertising has been growing rapidly. We can see advertisements on almost any webpage we go to. Even if you try to avoid ads, you are bound to find some. This leads us to a crucial part of advertising which is ethics.

    Read More

  • The Exploitation Of Children In Television Advertising

    4398 Words  | 9 Pages

    audience, the advertising industry is charged with several ethical breeches, which focus on a lack of societal responsibility (Treise 59). Child Advocacy groups and concerned parents, among others, question the ethicality of advertising claims and appeals that are directed towards vulnerable groups in particular, children (Bush 31).

    Read More

  • The Power of Advertising

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advertising has been defined as the most powerful, persuasive, and manipulative tool that firms have to control consumers all over the world. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Its impacts created on the society throughout the years has been amazing, especially in this technology age. Influencing people’s habits, creating false needs, distorting the values and priorities of our society with sexism and feminism, advertising has become a poison snake ready to hunt his prey. However, on the other hand, advertising has had a positive effect as a help of the economy and society.

    Read More

More about Ethical Theories In Advertising Essay

Open Document