ETHICAL VIOLATIONS IN ADVERTISING NATURE, CONSEQUENCES, AND PERSPECTIVES

Framarz D. Byramjee, Ph.D.1 Associate Professor of Marketing Department of Marketing Eberly College of Business and Information Technology 664 Pratt Drive Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA 15705 Email: framarz.byramjee@iup.edu Phone: 724-357-1364 Fax: 724-357-1379 Andreas Klein, Ph.D. Assistant Professor at University of Duisburg-Essen Mercator School of Management Department of Management and Marketing 65 Lotharstrasse Duisburg, Germany 47057 Email: andreas.klein@uni-due.de Madan M. Batra, Ph.D. Professor of Marketing and International Business Department of Marketing Eberly College of Business and Information Technology 664 Pratt Drive Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA 15705 Email: batra@iup.edu

Corresponding author

ETHICAL VIOLATIONS IN ADVERTISING NATURE, CONSEQUENCES, AND PERSPECTIVES ABSTRACT Advertising constitutes a vital stream among the marketing functions of a business; it being a major driver of the firms integrated promotions for pushing sales in todays highly competitive business environment. Sales and especially advertising are two areas which are directly connected to the external network of a firm. While most companies revere the pursuit of their businesses on a regular moral understanding, there are some firms which continue to follow both good and bad business practices. The issue of ethics in advertising bears great concern to all firms engaged in business worldwide, and to consumers likewise. There have been numerous studies conducted by eminent scholars regarding the ethical aspects of the advertising profession. This paper attempts to modestly overview and consolidate the literature relating to ethics and ethical issues in the field of advertising under four umbrella dimensions, namely the ethical violations pertaining to the sender, the message, the product, and the target audience of the advertising communication. It also discusses what has been done to address those areas by government, selfregulation, and researchers. A section on concluding remarks suggests

theoretical perspectives that help to highlight problems which would still need to be addressed and/or resolved in the future.

Keywords Advertising ethics, promotion violations, ethical issues

ethics,

marketing

ethics,

ethical

INTRODUCTION A call for increased emphasis on ethics in business decisionmaking rests on the assumption that good ethics is good business (Abratt and Sacks, 1988) or, from a slightly different perspective, that good ethics is good for business (Davis, 1994b). Advertising, a traditionally high-profile management function since World War II (Fraedrich et al., 1989; Tansey and Hyman, 1993), perpetuates a paradox. On the one hand, it is commonly touted by business and the academy as a major economic, social and competitive force in postworld war economies to inform consumers about available products and help guide them in the buying process (Pratt and James, 1994; Cohan, 2001). On the other hand, it has, since long, been a bull's-eye for public wrath (Laczniak et al., 1995; Burnett et al., 2003). Hackley 1999, Cowton 1992, Crisp 1987, and Littlechild 1982, for example, present evidence on consumer suspicion and antipathy toward, and investor concerns about advertising ethics. Marketing has always been open to criticisms about unethical practices (Ferrell and Weaver, 1978; Singhapakdi and Vitell, 1990; Dunfee et al., 1999; Nill and Schibrowsky, 2007). The marketing function of business is noted most for ethical abuse and almost every aspect of marketing has been criticized (Fraedrich et al., 1989; Whipple and Wolf, 1991; Murphy and Laczniak, 2006). Advertising

continues to bear the brunt of the criticisms leveled at business and some critics view advertisers as the epitome of unethical persons. Beltramini 2003 terms advertising ethics as an ultimate oxymoron. Businesses grumble over the high costs of this necessary evil's effects on shrinking margins. Advertising ethics has sustained itself as a towering lightning rod for controversy; perhaps, because it is the most visible business tool today, exposing the public to thousands of messages each day, which are sometimes more than questionable (Treise et al., 1994; Nebenzahl and Jaffe, 1998; Christy and Haley, 2008; Coyne and Traflet, 2008). There are no benchmarks for ethical practices as yet, forcing advertisers to adapt more traditional notions of what constitutes appropriate conduct as long as no legal issues are tampered with as those would stand to be prosecuted by regulatory institutions like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), or the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) (Belch and Belch, 2007). Attempts to avoid the unpleasantness that results from unethical behavior have resulted in some firms developing training programs aimed at improving the ethical sensitivity of employees (Moskowitz and Byrne, 1985). Others have attempted to address the situation by establishing codes of conduct and punishing unethical behavior (MarketingNews, 1987). Researchers have tried to find ways to make

such ethical programs more effective (French, 2006; Burke, 2007; Weber, 2007; Teicheira, 2008). Moreover, the American Advertising Federation has continually put this issue on their agenda (Snyder, 2003; Snyder, 2008). In addition, ethics is thought to be so important that the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) called for including ethics in business curricula a long time ago (AACSB, 1987-88). Nevertheless, there are companies that neglect their ethical responsibility by continually producing and airing unethical advertisements (Polonsky and Hyman, 2007). Advertising is the medium that conveys an organizations communications about its offerings to the market available for a sale, and hence, it possesses the innate ability to influence the consumer. In all fairness, advertising tries to create a positive attitude towards the brand, the respective offering, and the organization. It carries the message of the product, service and image characteristics of the company to the consumer. Collectively, advertisers should adhere to a code of moral and professional ethics when executing their functions (Coyne and Traflet, 2008). The sold products should be useful to the respective consumers (Snipes et al., 1999). However, advertisers often cut corners in their conduct, when trying to reach out to their targeted audiences (Polonsky and Hyman, 2007). Many a time, consumer groups who feel mislead or manipulated would end up filing

lawsuits and litigations against such corporations and their deceptive claims, or they might exert product boycotts. This could lead to serious repercussions for the corporations and the consumers belief in the profession. Moreover, such situations might lead to the involvement of organizations like e.g. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD; see www.madd.org) or Parents Television Council (PTC; see

www.parentstv.org) in the cause. In the end, regimentations by state or federal government not only on a specific advertisement but upon the entire advertising system are likely to occur (Treise et al., 1994), which, in fact, becomes quite disturbing to the advertising industry itself. The issue of ethics in advertising, thus, bears great concern to all companies and corporations engaged in business worldwide, and to consumers likewise. In that this paper gives an overview of ethical violations which have happened in the past and still continue to be plaguing the advertising function of business marketing, we provide below four dimensions concerning ethical issues in advertising. Those are, namely, the ethical issues pertaining to the message, the target audience, the product, and the sender of the advertising

communication. Based on the four tables presented below, the ensuing discussion outlines a systemized and condensed look on several ethical violations, the nature of the negative impact that results from

audiences exposure to these ethical violations, and the manner in which these issues have been addressed and/or resolved by entities like policy makers, regulators, business practitioners,

marketers/advertisers, researchers, and society-at-large.

ETHICAL VIOLATIONS PERTAINING TO THE MESSAGE The message of the ad is the single most element of advertising communication strategy, which is subject to the greatest and most varied extent of ethical violations. These violations are resultant from various aspects of message portrayal, right from its basic language, show, and pictorial viewing to its underlying hidden meanings and connotations. There are three main categoriesappeals, deceptive claims, and stereotypingunder which ethical issues pertaining to the message can be subsumed (see Table 1).

Table 1 Advertising Issues about the Message -------------------------------------Insert Table 1 about here --------------------------------------

Appeals

Use

of

subtle

forms

of

advertising

like

subliminal

and

psychoactive ads (Zeitlin and Westwood, 1986) needs to be given serious ethical consideration from a human welfare perspective. A psychoactive ad is any emotion-arousing ad that can cause a meaningful, well-defined group of viewers to feel extremely anxious, to feel hostile toward others, or to feel a loss of self-esteem (Hyman and Tansey, 1990), and thus, causes a negative impact on the target group (Huang, 1997). Because some ill-conceived psychoactive ads can cause harm, ethical issues tend to arise during their production. As government intervention, e.g. from the FDA or FDC, seems difficult for regulating use of psychoactive ads, it seems the moral responsibility of the advertisers community to pretest emotion-arousing ads for derogatory content. A subliminal ad exposure draws audiences attention at the sub-conscious level of mind; it can prove risky or harmful when such messages may trigger unintended emotions or actions (Zinkhan, 1994). In examining the ethical issues pertaining to the use of a marketing technique such as the use of fear appeals when targeting elderly audiences, a key issue is the assumed vulnerability of the audience (Benet et al., 1993). The elderly are termed as

psychologically vulnerable, or more sensitive than younger adults to shocking promotional messages (Hyman and Tansey, 1990). Forceful

abusive nature of fear appeal can be an inhumane tool that is capable of victimizing and inducing traumatic effects in more vulnerable audiences like young children and elderly folks who are more susceptible to unscrupulous business practices. Whereas the fear appeal might be useful for preventing young adults from drunk driving or from the use of drugs, it is still questionable to what extent the fear appeal should be used (LaTour and Zahra, 1989; LaTour et al., 1996; Snipes et al., 1999). Early studies about the effects of fear appeals were conducted by Janis and Feshbach 1953 and Janis and Feshbach 1954. They found out that slight fear appeals are helpful in transferring arguments within a message. Therefore, firms should be cognizant that ad messages engaging fear appeals can be effective if used appropriately via proper design and testing; only then would the process of viewing such ads prove energizing and effective, rather than being traumatic, tensioninducing or fear-stimulating (Benet et al., 1993). Sometimes, firms project shocking images to gain media and audiences attention to their messages complex and far-reaching meanings. They have to be aware that highly loaded fear appeals can damage the credibility of the sender of the message (Treise et al., 1994). In addition, they have to be aware that non-target viewers would also be exposed to the advertisement.

Sexuality and use of sex appeal in advertising is a major area of ethical concern. Many ads present sexual appeals which reflect upon weak roles of women, showing them as submissive and in need of constant alteration or improvement (Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Cohan, 2001). Such messages tend to seriously offend the concerned gender or groups, as the ads would wrongly influence believers of such messages to disrespect the inflicted groups. Such messages also create degrading role models for women (Boddewyn, 1991), which tend to be wrongly absorbed by the target group (Ford et al., 1991; Cohan, 2001). Sirgy and Su 2000 suggest that increased visual and semiotic literacy is an important component of societal marketing. However, if drawing upon sexist and racist typicalities, these images, in the effort to resolve complex meanings, could result in potential negative communication and offend targeted consumers. From a scientific viewpoint, the effectiveness of sex appeals is also questionable (LaTour and Henthorne, 1994). A study from Severn et al. 1990 showed that reckoning a highly sexually loaded

advertisement leads to a significantly lesser of reflecting on the advertised product by the participant. Further, they argued that sexual appeals can have higher effectiveness when there is interdependence between product and sex appeal (e.g. advertising for undergarments). Moreover, an early study of Steadman 1969 showed that brand names

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are better recalled, when there is less sexual context. It has also been shown that consumers opposing sexual appeals transfer negative image onto the product (Peterson and Kerin, 1977). Nevertheless, research on sexually explicit material has shown that choice enhancement proponents, such as some advertisers and liberals, tend to oppose censorship and restrictions on such material unless there is evidence that it causes harm, while consumer protection proponents, such as certain feminists and conservatives, tend to advocate restricting sexually explicit materials and/or banning them altogether (Gould, 1994). Public policy on sexual advertising may focus on both supply (i.e., the sexual advertisements as well as advertisers and related others) and demand (i.e., the audience). However, it is clear that strong overt sexual appeal in print ads triggers controversy and may not be well-received by consumers. Vulgar use of sexual appeal in ads can wrongly influence uncultivated impressionable minds, and hence legal regulations must be in place to curtail and ban such messages. Otherwise, good of the society continues to be at risk of debilitation by offensive images and distasteful exposures. The use of humorous appeals and parody in advertising is a complex (and sometimes controversial) topic. On the one hand, humor can lead to consumer well-being as it attracts and persuades

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consumers to buy a specific product. On the other hand, humor deflects from essential positive and/or negative facts of the product, thereby making it unethical (Shabbir and Thwaites, 2007). Sternthal and Craig 1973 pointed out that humor can be so distractive that the main product-information can get lost and the advertisement

seemingly becomes persuasive. Zinkhan and Johnson 1994 define parody as an artistic work that broadly mimics an author's

characteristic style (and holds it up to ridicule). A negative dimension of parody is that the characterized groups may feel insulted as well as exposed (Weinberger and Gulas, 1992). A parody is particularly risky when used in advertising in international markets with different cultural contexts (Huang, 1997). The existence of offensive

commercial messages based upon parody is a major ethical concern within advertising; especially, if a certain group or an audience is rebuked or offended by the message.

Deceptive Claims Disguised and obtrusive advertising mostly deals with the way messages are presented to audiences, and whether the sender discloses himself in an appropriate and traceable way. In a broader sense, deceptive claims are an inherent part of advertising messages (Kimmel, 2001), and a primary concern in advertising ethics (Hyman

12

et al., 1994). Disguised advertising messages are, for instance, those that individuals may not perceive as being sponsored because the source of the message is unclear, or because they are presented as editorial material, rather than advertisements (Nebenzahl and Jaffe, 1998). The degree to which the sponsor is disguised is determined not only by the extent to which the source is concealed, but also by the degree that consumers believe the message to be non-sponsored information and news. Obtrusive advertising consists of messages that are background to more salient stimuli or messages (Nebenzahl and Jaffe, 1998). Highly obtrusive advertising messages may be perceived at unconscious or sub-attentive levels. Like the case of disguise, as the degree of advertising obtrusiveness increases, consumers increasingly attend to the ads at the sub-conscious level. Deception in advertising has always sustained criticism. An ad or ad campaign is considered deceptive when it leaves consumers with other than reasonable knowledge (required to make an informed purchasing decision) about the product in question (Carson et al., 1985). It tends to mislead the viewer by providing incorrect or insufficient information, with the deliberate initiative to result in a sale. Advertisers increasingly try to immerse their commercial messages in other forms of communication, thus obfuscating the distinction between communication whose primary function is information, and

13

communication whose primary objective is persuasion (Jeurissen and Veen, 2006). Immersive advertising is many a time deceptive as it misleads consumers into thinking that advertising material presented to them as content is indeed information, because the characteristics it displays correspond with what a reasonable person expects from content, but not necessarily from advertising (Spence and Heekeren, 2005). Critical attention in the mass media to such highly visible practices as deceptive advertising, bait-and-switch selling tactics, the invasion of consumer privacy, deceptive pricing, and selling under the guise of marketing research has raised a number of ethical concerns and threatens to seriously tarnish the image and reputation of legitimate marketing practitioners (Kimmel, 2001). The unwary

consumer happens to be at the receiving end of these actions by firms. Stern 1992 presents three different types of deception, namely, metonymy, irony or absurdity: Cigarettes are associated with freedom rather than death (metonymy), Laslo Erno wants to sell skin care, but says we cant in its slogan (irony), and a camel character called Smooth Joe (Camel cigarettes) is presented in everyday situations (absurdity). Another technique resorted of marketers in this context is the use of puffery (Belch and Belch, 2007) in the form of injecting

14

superlatives like biggest or best. Untruthful and deceptive claims made in ads concerning products and services lead to violations of the veracity of the ad, and viewers feel mislead by the incorrect or insufficient information. In addition, deception may lead to false beliefs and wrong buying decisions (Carson et al., 1985). Many a times the sponsors may be disguised or concealed as well, thereby misleading consumers; as a result, the truth gets shadowed by the information asymmetries created by the advertisers network, thereby violating consumers right to know and judge the communication. Consumers feel manipulated and exploited when exposed to such advertising messages, and tend to develop negative message-oriented ethical attributions (Davis, 1994b). Advertising is also alleged to misrepresent reality, by pushing its own values, artificial or false as they may be, as to what is good for consumers (Cohan, 2001). Advertising is blamed to tend to ratchet up the quest for material gain, leading consumers to believe that happiness depends on attaining a high material standard of living, and acquiring more and more things (Cohan, 2001). People accordingly connect with such messages and tend to be drawn towards material possessions beyond their range of need and affordability, thereby straining their expendable budgets. Such ads result in infusing hedonic culture among individuals and escalated purchases beyond consumers

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means. The persuasive appeals bypass rational thinking, as viewers succumb to the appetites generated by glossy ad messages which foster strayed philosophies to mislead the viewers. Playful, fictional and pictorial communication in an ad can be equally deceptive, especially through use of its images and pictorial metaphors more than its language (Jeurissen and Veen, 2006). The pictorial metaphor (Forceville, 1996) is a powerful instrument that advertising agencies employ to convey messages that appeal to irrational desires and elude regulatory detection. Such captive ads with deceptive imagery and pictorial metaphors can project misleading meanings which could penetrate viewers psyche and stray

uncultivated minds (Jeurissen and Veen, 2006). Moreover, advertising on the internet poses great ethical concerns, and internet advertising issues are on the forefront of marketers who have any dealings via the World Wide Web. In the context of electronic marketing the potential harm results from the fact that an organization developing user profiles can accumulate potentially sensitive information about a user, based on his or her Internet activities (Charters, 2002). Practices like matching user profiles with personally identifiable information, and selling this data to other internet marketers becomes unethical as it constitutes an invasion/loss of consumers privacy. Consumers feel threatened by the

16

intrusiveness of such online advertising and electronic monitoring activities (Stead and Gilbert, 2001). Furthermore, spamming continues to be a disturbance and privacy issue with unsolicited information regarding products and services flooding users e-mails (Miller and Weckert, 2000). Ethical consumer-oriented e-commerce websites now ask customers'

permission to send sale announcements or newsletters (Miller and Weckert, 2000). Considering the Internet advertising industry's current actions, computer users and government regulators would be well advised, both practically and ethically, to move to a user control model in electronic monitoring (Charters, 2002). Users are provided with choices regarding whether they wish to remain or opt out of services pertaining to monitoring online, and whether they wish to have their information distributed to other marketers online who may then advertise to them.

Stereotyping Marketing communication depends largely on visual

representation to produce meaning, brand images and spectacular simulations that create associations in consumers' minds (Borgerson and Schroeder, 2002). Representations that are exoticized, sexist, or racist bear the potential to damage the reputation of the represented

17

group, and associated group members, as viewers create meanings and subjective interpretations of such ads which are believed to construct reality as part of the lived experience (Hughes, 2000). Individuals or groups who comprise of this communication, thereby impacted by stereotyping, feel insulted, subordinated and oppressed as they would lose control of how they, their society, and their culture are being portrayed and interpreted. Stereotypes are very often used in advertising. A study of Taylor and Lee 1994 showed that AsianAmericans are very often used in ads for technological product advertisements. Native Americans are often associated with freedom or affinity with nature, which can be seen in the respective ads (Green, 1993). This leads to a situation wherein minorities especially are often reduced to their mere stereotypes (Taylor and Lee, 1994). Women are also often stereotyped in advertising. Most of the time they are shown in situations where someone has to take care of the household or when cosmetics or hygiene products are needed (Mayne, 2000). In addition, advertising often gives idealized images of people, which leads to uncertainty in the eyes of the viewer as well as negative health effects (e.g. bulimia or anorexia) whenever such artificial images set up implausible standards of living beyond reach of regular population (Peterson, 1987; Elliott and Elliott, 2005).

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ETHICAL VIOLATIONS PERTAINING TO THE TARGET AUDIENCE An organizations advertising communications can trigger much ethical concern and controversy if certain audience targeted for the campaign falls prey to its adverse effects (Laczniak et al., 1995).

Table 2 Advertising Issues about the Target Group -------------------------------------Insert Table 2 about here --------------------------------------

Children Children constitute a very important and potent target group for marketers, as they have a strong effect on families consumption habits (Belch and Belch, 2007). Statistics show that children watch about 25,600 commercials each year (Desrochers and Holt, 2007; Maher et al., 2008). Curran 1999 addresses the question of advertising to children while they are in school. Corporations, when providing funding to schools for their capital expenses, seek contractual franchise agreements with school administrators that guarantee the advertisers exclusive right for marketing their offerings. Schools are a cost-effective and lucrative media outlet with the children constituting

19

a captive audience and an increasing target market. This ethical concern is a nagging but avoidable distraction for school

administrators who dismiss any potential negative impact of ads in the schools by the circular argument that since advertising itself is pervasive in our society, there is nothing wrong with placing ads in the schools, irrespective of the potential negative impact of the ads on susceptible minds of the kids. Turk 1979 describes the issue of children's television advertising as an ethical morass for business and government. Ethical concerns arise when children are perceived as targets of easy prey to the marketing jargons of businesses. Advertising to children via varied media like television, print, or internet raises special concerns for parents and society, as children lack analytical/judgment abilities, have only rare experience of life (Armstrong and Brucks, 1988), and are thus, vulnerable to stray influences (Brucks et al., 1988; Preston, 2004). When inducing varied purchases within this growing market with spending potential, ads can pose danger if inappropriate content, language, speech, terminology or indecency of any sort is displayed in the ads to these innocent minds via any medium of exposure (Austin and Reed, 1999). This situation might additionally lead to conflicts between children who face pressure by their peers, and who would like

20

to own new products, and their parents, who on the other hand, cannot afford such products (Hite and Eck, 1987). Children generally lack the developmental ability to give consent to the release of personal information to an advertiser. This is an even greater problem for children when they are offered incentives for providing personal information, or when personal information is required before they are allowed to register for contests, join a kids' club, or play games. Austin and Reed 1999 point out that parents, government, industrial groups advocating self-regulation, advertising personnel, and Internet marketers are all responsible for insuring children's safety on the Internet or any other medium of exposure. The Federal Trade Commission Act places legal and regulatory limits to prohibit deceptive or unfair advertising in any medium. The act specifically reminds advertisers that children may be more easily misled than adults; hence, advertisers should take care and not misrepresent products advertised to children. The Communications Decency Act (CDA) made it a crime to engage in speech that is indecent or patently offensive on computer networks if the speech might be viewed by children. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has taken a number of initiatives to insure protection of children who use the Internet. To help reduce the amount of harmful and deceptive advertising, the DMA suggests that organizations promote online

21

privacy statements explaining their use of marketing and advertising practices. With increasing availability of the Internet, the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) provides guidelines to promote ethical Internet advertising practices. When children's advertising is found to be misleading, inaccurate, or inconsistent with guidelines set by CARU, the organization asks the companies responsible for it to voluntarily make changes in their advertising.

Women Cohan 2001 identifies the ethical issues involved with women's advertising, and argues that ads can be successful in generating sales without portraying women as things or as mere sex objects, and without perpetuating various weakness stereotypes. Women's

advertising redefines attractiveness from something natural to an unattainable ideal. Compared to men, women are positioned

differently (Pringle, 1992; Mayne, 2000). The unnatural styles of flawlessness depicted in models with impossible youth and perfection accomplished with professional makeup, hair, and photo retouches tend to project women in a very different light. Treating women as things instead of autonomous, rational beings runs contrary to the spirit and intentions which ground our laws on gender equality. Such advertising appeals tend to erode women's self-esteem. Interestingly,

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a study by Zimmerman and Dahlberg, 2008 showed positive attitudes of young, educated women toward sex appeals used in

advertisements. Though they feel affronted by such controversial ads, they still consume these products. A study by Ford et al. 1991, that also included upscale female participants, found the same results by trend. Women stayed neutral to the statement if a new product is introduced with ads that I find offensive, I might still buy it if it offers me benefits that I find attractive (Ford et al., 1991, p. 20). These findings suggest that in spite of ethical discussions about the right or wrong nature of such female stereotyping, attitudes towards

controversial ads by the target group are changing over time in terms of being less critical.

Elderly Benet et al. 1993 discuss the extent of appropriateness of fear appeal use for health care marketing to the elderly. Because of their age they face a higher likelihood of health problems and therefore spend more money on pharmaceuticals or other products related to that product category (Bailey, 1987). The elderly are commonly perceived as a vulnerable group, more susceptible to unscrupulous business practices than younger groups, and exhibit a strong fear of victimization (LaGrange and Ferraro, 1987). They are psychologically

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more susceptible to strong stimuli, and more sensitive than younger adults to shocking promotional messages (Hyman and Tansey, 1990). In addition, advertisers treat fear appeals as a powerful, useful and ethically humane tool for informing the elderly target market of new products, services, and health care offerings which could improve their quality of life. However, overt abusive fear-inducing ads can cause tension, anxiety, and traumatic effect for the elderly.

ETHICAL VIOLATIONS PERTAINING TO THE PRODUCT Table 3 Advertising Issues about the Product -------------------------------------Insert Table 3 about here --------------------------------------

Promotion for controversial products like cigarettes, alcohol or contraceptives have potential to generate negative responses

(Rehmann and Brooks Jr., 1987; Wilson and West, 1995; Waller, 1999; Waller, 2004; Waller, 2005). Wilson and West 1981 coined the term unmentionables for such products or services. These are products, services or concepts that for reasons of delicacy, decency, morality, or even fear tend to elicit reactions of distaste, disgust,

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offense, or outrage when mentioned or when openly presented (Wilson and West, 1981, p. 92). Based on this initial idea in the literature, two categories of products can be distinguished. On the one hand, there are socially embarrassing or controversial products (e.g. undergarments, or hygiene products for women). On the other hand, there are products which are sold under regimentations by law because of their potential harm on society (e.g. pharmaceuticals, alcohol, or cigarettes). Ads for controversial products, which cause a negative reaction, and thereby offence, can result in negative publicity, complaints to advertising regulatory bodies, falling sales, and product boycotts. Nowa-days, society is more open-minded to advertisements for

unmentionables (Fahy et al., 1995). Nevertheless, products like undergarments for women as well as for men still fall in this category (Beard, 2008), and are judged as a kind of personal product (Waller, 2004). Some foreign cultures in their respective marketplace may feel offended by ads for controversial products. Fam and Waller, 2003 conducted a study in the area of controversial advertising to determine perceptions of offensive ads. They determined that the people of three Asian countries (Malaysia, China and Taiwan) where political

leadership as well as their official interpretation of Asian values is very powerful, view advertisements relating to controversial

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products/services

like

female

underwear,

contraceptives,

funeral

services, etc. more conservatively as opposed to New Zealand, a liberal western country where Asian values receive little attention (Waller, 1999; Waller et al., 2005; Fam et al., 2008). Martin Jr. 1994 draws attention to the calls for major public policy changes regarding advertising, specifically for cigarettes, and demands their glossy advertising campaigns to be banned. Successful ad campaigns pushing such sensitive products as tobacco and alcoholic beverages can influence vulnerable minds by showing such products as trendy (cool), fashionable, and subject to consumption through peer pressure and indulgence. Such persuasive ad appeals encourage youth to adopt harmful habits like smoking and drinking, and prove derogatory to the good of society. To this accord, major public policy changes called for by medical associations and regulatory bodies can influence the nature of ad campaigns running attractive messages and promotions for such products perceived as unhealthy and harmful especially for younger generations, and their corrective actions can even lead to the banning or curtailing of such promotion activities for the good of society. The products that can cause serious harm to the individual or to the society-at-large usually face advertising regimentations by law (Shao and Hill, 1994a; Shao and Hill, 1994b). Regimentations on

26

advertising for cigarettes and alcohol started in the 20th century (Schuster and Powell, 1987). From an ethical viewpoint, the fact that the earlier the people start smoking the more likely it is that they will not stop it as grown-ups is disturbing to society, and a justification for regimentations on cigarette advertising. In this context, using a character like Smooth Joe (Camel) or a cowboy (Marlboro) is questionable as both are extremely appealing to children and young adults. Furthermore, strong evidence in media and medical reports that shows that heavy smoking and occurrence of cancer are highly correlated. The misuse of alcoholic beverages causes car crashes and criminal activities. About 100,000 US citizens die each year from the misuse of alcohol (Hacker, 1998). Chandra and Holt 1999 identify certain pharmaceuticals that are addictive. Advertisements that

promise health and beauty mislead weak individuals to buy products that are not always necessary for them. Advertising regimentations are a moral necessity in all these products. Snyder 2008 reports that advertisers have become better attuned to ethical considerations when addressing culturally diverse audiences; especially, alcohol beverage marketers have adopted selfimposed guidelines to assure that their messages are only contained in programming directed to adults.

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ETHICAL VIOLATIONS PERTAINING TO THE SENDER/AGENCY Table 4 Advertising Issues about the Sender/Agency -------------------------------------Insert Table 4 about here --------------------------------------

In an organization, the employees in marketing are more likely to be confronted with ethical challenges than other employees of the company (Pratt and James, 1993). Members of the advertising community sometimes fail to assume their social responsibility when trying to balance their loyalties to the advertiser, the agency, and the media in pursuit of for-profit business-orientation. Furthermore, a study by Davis 1994a shows that within the process of advertising, the most agency personnel rely rather on law than on ethics. In addition, younger advertising professionals make decisions based on economic thinking, whereas older advertising professionals include ethical aspects more often. These findings are also supported by a study of Pratt et al. 1995, who presented different scenarios to advertising students and asked for their ethical judgements. As a result, the consumer receives least priority, and may have to bear the brunt of professionals neglect and indifference. Corporations attempt to

28

address the situation by establishing codes of conduct and punishing unethical behavior, but some still seem to neglect their responsibility or are not even aware of the issue (Polonsky and Hyman, 2007). Many professional associations that seek self-regulation of advertising in the USA adopt codes of conduct, to which practitioners are expected to adhere (Pratt and James, 1994). Hunt et al. 1989 explore corporate ethical values as a

component of corporate culture and establish its positive relationship with organizational commitment in marketing. They suggest that increased formalization of ethical values in organizations serves well as a managerial initiative to influence ethical behavior of employees in all business functions. Hite et al. 1988 suggest that in addition to documented policies, top management should profess and

communicate ethical values and demonstrate, by example, as to how ethical dilemmas arise and how these are dealt with, by providing frameworks for ethical conduct. Kochunny et al. 1997 develop a headand-heart orientation as a measure of marketers' predisposition for ethical conduct. They conclude that marketing professionals exhibit a head/heart trait imbalance; head traits associated with thinking and action are treated more important compared to heart traits associated with feeling and sentiment when dealing with consumer marketing. Further, males are found to exhibit predisposition toward unethical

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professional conduct more than females, in the quest of seeking rewards, even if it were at the expense of the afflicted consumer. Attempts to avoid the unpleasantness which results from unethical behavior have resulted in some firms developing training programs aimed at improving the ethical sensitivity of employees. Marketers from companies with codes of ethics rank honesty higher than those from companies without codes of ethics. Drumwright and Murphy 2004 examine how advertising agency personnel perceive, process, and think about ethical issues. They focus on the advertisers exhibiting moral myopia, a distortion of moral vision that prevents moral issues from coming into focus, and moral muteness, meaning that they rarely talk about ethical issues. Advertisers get so immersed in their business quest that they lose sight of any unethical behavior that may impact their audience. Their aloofness potentially desensitizes them from fathoming any negative impact that their marketing communication may render to the receivers. Drumwright and Murphy 2004 discuss another phenomenon called going native that distorts moral vision; here, ad agency personnel start becoming so involved in a client's business and corporate culture that one fails to recognize or ask moral questions. Hunt and Chonko 1987 report ethical problems faced by executives in advertising agencies. Agencies face ethical dilemma

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when representing clients whose products/services are unhealthy, unneeded, useless, or unethical. In such cases, the ad professionals would be forced to create ads which are not honest, non-misleading or socially desirable; thereby, consumers welfare takes an evident backseat when agencies accept contracts for representing such clients. Claims made by the advertisements regarding the products or services advertised may not always be necessarily true, and that too raises an ethical dilemma regarding the credibility of the agency. Pratt and James 1994 shed light on the aspect of reluctance of many ad agencies to institute policies, either written or oral, that would proscribe/ban unethical conduct, thereby signaling their attitude to transgress from ethical norms. Some advertisers may be perceived as controversial, just by the nature of product, and any promotion of their product may generate negative responses, for example cigarettes, alcohol or contraceptives. However, many companies have courted deliberate use of

controversial ads as a strategy in their marketing communications (Evans and Riyait, 1993). Such campaigns could pose offence to viewers if their religious or cultural beliefs are hurt, and generate negative reactions and resentment in the market, especially during phases of new market entry for international ventures.

31

CONCLUDING REMARKS Based upon a selected review of literature on advertising ethics, this paper has identified four areas of ethical issues in advertising, namely, the ethical issues pertaining to the sender, the message, the product, and the target audience of the advertising communication. Next, we point out some theoretical perspectives in advertising ethics that may be helpful in addressing ethical challenges. The issue of advertising ethics can bear implications for organizations which can be addressed and explained from an framework for

institutional theory

perspective. The

three-pillars

institutional theory, namely the regulative, normative, and cognitive pillars approach, as per DiMaggio 1988 can help explain how organizations in the marketplace can deal with advertising ethics. The three-pillar approach can show the transition between the regulative to the normative to the cognitive (as per our order of theorizing). The regulative pillar will hold when regulatory bodies and responsive agencies impose restrictions and rules in the industry, thereby requiring firms to curtail the extent of ethical violations in their advertising/promotions function. Once established, the normative pillar can then take over, as firms become aware of the nature of ethical violations, and their efforts to practice advertising ethics become more like a practiced norm rather than an imposed rule. Gradually, the

32

cognitive pillar is resorted to as firms develop the knowledge and modus operandi to be proactive in the inculcation and enforcement of their advertising ethics. Thus, the institutional perspective toward development and dissemination of advertising ethics by various firms in the industry can emerge, as organizations interact in the field, via competition as well as coalition, leading to development of mutual awareness, among participants in a set of organizations, that they are involved in a common enterprise (DiMaggio, 1982). To this effect, organizations, as rational actors, engage in institutional isomorphism, in attempts to align themselves with other organizations in the industry (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). When faced with regulations on advertising communications ethical violations imposed by governing agencies, organizations may be compelled toward coercive isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), thereby leading firms to tone down the extent of ethical violations, in order to set themselves at par with other players. Firms will also engage in normative isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism in order to follow the norms of other players in the industry, thereby reflecting organizational structures conforming to the rules, norms, and

voluntary practices institutionalized and legitimated within this state of homogenization (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). Such efforts of firms modeling their ethical practices based on other players in the industry

33

can greatly advance the cause for development and maintenance of their ethical constraints. Practice of advertising ethics can also bear implication from economics of information (Stigler, 1961; Nelson, 1981) and signaling theory (Spence, 1974; Spence, 1976), wherein firms can monitor and police the extent of ethical violations deemed plausible for business, and they can let the market be aware of the manner in which they control their advertising ethics stature as a signal of their endeavor toward action and commitment of their corporate social responsibility perspective (Spence, 1973; Spence, 1974). Given the extent of information widely available in the marketplace today and the increasing levels of knowledge and awareness of consumers,

marketers when framing their advertising programs should recognize that consumers will inevitably be cognizant and impressionable of many of the ethical violations which the advertising communications may potentially pose via any of the four encompassing categories described in this paper. This argument also draws a strong connection to the schemerschema perspective proposed by Wright 1986, wherein consumers develop intuitive theories about marketers influence tactics.

Consumers learn to identify and interpret advertising and sales presentations, and that knowledge allows them to cope and adaptively

34

respond to those persuasion attempts (Sternberg et al., 2006). These schemer schemas keep the consumer vigilant of the firms ulterior motives of their advertising communications, and make the consumer able to see through the tactics used by the marketer (Grunert and Thogersen, 2005). Thus, ethical misconduct or ethical violations resorted to by firms in their advertising communications through any means can many a times, directly or subtly, be recognized by the consumers who happen to be falling prey to these ethical violations. If firms proactively try to reduce or control their ethical misconduct in the light of the markets awareness, they would certainly stand a better chance of improving their image and reputation in the market, as a further attempt to assert their drive toward corporate social responsibility.

35

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Table 1 Advertising Issues about the Message

Ethical Violation
Appeals

Selected Literature
Zeitlin/Westwood 1986 Hyman/Tansey 1990 Huang 1997

Nature and Consequences

- Marketers use persuasive methods for changing consumers attitudes towards their own brands. - Resulting messages are likely to inspire negative emotions. - Vulnerable audiences like young children and elderly fall prey to forceful fear-stimulating ads, and may be affected emotionally and psychologically.

Present Action
- Legal and/or regulatory policies try to limit such exposures for social good (e.g. by FTC or FDA). - Policy makers impose censorship criteria and initiate prohibitions. - Consumer protectionists and other stakeholders advocate restrictions or bans (e.g. by sueing violators). - Markets (societys) reactions and criticisms causes such ads to be modified or withdrawn (e.g. by product boycotts). - Self regulation mechanisms come into action (e.g. by NARC). - Firms initiate awareness and become reluctant to offend the market.

- Fear

Janis/Feshbach 1953, 1954 LaTour/Zahra 1989 Benet et al. 1993 Treise et al. 1994 LaTour et al. 1996 Snipes et al. 1999

- Sex

Steadman 1969 Peterson/Kerin 1977 Soley/Kurzbard 1986 Severn et al. 1990 Boddewyn 1991 Gould 1994 LaTour/Henthorne 1994 Cohan 2001

- Strong overt sexual appeal in print ads triggers controversy and may not be well-received by consumers. - Vulgar use of sexual appeal in ads can wrongly influence uncultivated impressionable minds. - Societal good is debilitated by offensive images and distasteful exposures.
- Audience may be offended by humorous commercial messages concerning their own peer groups/social cluster. - Cliches negatively affect attitudes towards certain groups of people. - Some annoying commercials may be rebuked as environmental clutter.

- Humor

Sternthal/Craig 1973 Weinberger/Gulas 1992 Zinkhan /Johnson 1994 Shabbir/Thwaites 2007

Deceptive claims

Carson et al. 1985 Stern 1992 Nebenzahl/Jaffe 1998 Miller/Weckert 2000 Kimmel 2001 Stead/Gilbert 2001 Charters 2002

- Viewers belief mislead by the unclear material and disguised sponsor of the ad or the incorrect or insufficient information been given. - Unwary consumers naively absorb and believe underlying meanings of ad. - Consumers unknowingly attend to ads salient stimuli at subconscious level. - Consumers feel manipulated and exploited, begin doubting ads claims, suspect ad agencies trueness, and feel discontented, as their right to know/judge the communication is violated by the information asymmetries. - Consumers feel threatened by intrusiveness and privacy violation of spam advertising. - Collecting of sensitive information and user profiles stimulates consumers fear of identity theft and misuse. - Believers of such messages are wrongly influenced, which might lead to disrespect for inflicted groups. - Targeted consumers offended by negative communication reflecting sexist and racist typicalities.

Stereotyping

Peterson 1987 Green 1993 Taylor/Lee 1994 Mayne 2000 Elliott/Elliott 2005

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Table 2 Advertising Issues about the Target Group

Ethical Violation Children Selected Literature Turk 1979 Hite/Eck 1987 Armstrong/Brucks 1988 Brucks et al. 1988 Austin/Reed 1999 Curran 1999 Preston 2004 Desrochers/Holt 2007 Hudson et al. 2008 Maher et al. 2008 Nature and Consequences - Parents and society are concerned as children are vulnerable to stray influences - Children are endangered when exposed to any inappropriate content, language, speech, terminology or indecency in ads - Potential negative impact of ads on susceptible minds of the kids - Kids falsely pursue to make purchases - Women's self-esteem and respect eroded by ads conveying unattainable ideals which debase gender equality spirit - Overt fear-inducing ads can cause tension, anxiety, and traumatic effect for the elderly who are more susceptible to such strong stimuli Present Action - Responsive actions of regulatory nature by governmental organizations (e.g. FTC, FCC, FDA) to protect childrens welfare - Self-regulation mechanisms come into action to set up codes of conduct (e.g. AAAA, AAF, NARC) - Parents, educators, consumer advocates, and general public engage into the process (e.g. Mothers against Drunk Driving or Parents Television Council)

Women

Ford et al. 1991 Pringle 1992 Mayne 2000 Cohan 2001 Zimmermann/Dahlberg 2008 Bailey 1987 LaGrange/Ferraro 1987 Benet et al. 1993

Elderly

45

Table 3 Advertising Issues about the Product

Ethical Violation Unmentionables Selected Literature Wilson/West 1981 Nature and Consequences - Products or services that tend to elicit reactions of distaste, disgust, offense, or even outrage Present Action - Regulatory bodies and medical associations intervene to curtail or ban such promotion activities - Alcohol beverage marketers have self-imposed guidelines to assure that their messages are only contained in programs directed to adults (e.g. miscellaneous Trade Associations like the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States) - The media set up associations to monitor what is shown on television and aired on the radio (NAB) - Parents form groups like e.g. Mothers Against Drunk Driving

- Socially embarrassing or controversial products

Rehman/Brooks, Jr. 1987 Fahy et al. 1995 Wilson/West 1995 Waller 1999 Fam/Waller 2003 Waller 2004 Waller 2005 Beard 2008 Fam et al. 2008
Schuster/Powell 1987 Martin Jr. 1994 Shao/Hill 1994a Shao/Hill 1994b Hacker 1998 Chandra/Holt 1999

- Vulnerable minds influenced and subject to consumption through peer pressure and indulgence - Youth and society in general encouraged to adopt harmful habits like smoking or drinking - Groups and cultures in their respective marketplace feel that their values are disregarded and take offence
- Especially cigarettes, alcohol and new pharmaceuticals are products not only controversial, but also causing serious harm to individuals and society at large

- Harmful products

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Table 4 Advertising Issues about the Sender/Agency

Ethical Violation Sender or Agency Conduct Dilemmas Selected Literature Hunt/Chonko 1987 Hite et al. 1988 Hunt et al. 1989 Pratt/James 1993 Davis 1994a Pratt/James 1994 Pratt/James/Kailimai 1995 Kochunny et al. 1997 Drumwright/Murphy 2004 Polonsky/Hyman 2007 Nature and Consequences - Consumers receive least priority and get afflicted by unethical conduct and actions of practitioners who fail to assume social responsibility in pursuit of business orientation and function without regard for their feelings or sentiments - Consumers welfare takes a backseat and their confidence displaced by ad agencies dishonest, misleading, socially undesirable actions which transgress from ethical norms - Invasion/loss of privacy issues and intrusiveness concerns arise for users due to electronic monitoring, therefore users feel threatened about potential misuse of sensitive information - Social welfare and society at large would be the victim when the education system itself fails to address and nurture business ethics in students Present Action - Government regulators and Internet advertisers are advised to practically and ethically move to a user control model in electronic monitoring where users can opt for services - Corporations establish codes of conduct and seek selfregulations by formalyzing ethical values in practice and rewarding ethical behavior - Firms develop training programs to improve ethical sensitivity aspects of employees - AACSB calls for including ethics in business curricula to inculcate/raise students consciousness and ethics-driven philosophies

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