http://veraleann.blogspot.com/2011/11/ethical-firm-choices-according-to-my-ad.html
Blog #3
Blog #3
Vera Brumley
November 5, 2011
When it comes down to it, the world is going to throw a lot at you. So much so, that you might not be able to make perfectly ethical choices. In the advertising world, so many times you will find yourself not agreeing with your job description.
I am doing shadowing work for a firm in the DFW area, so I decided to ask my professional about any ethical dilemmas he may have ever encountered in an advertising manner.
At first, he was thrown off by my question, and he was confused at what exactly to respond with (or what he could respond with). He told me that more often than not, he felt more torn doing advertising for Denny’s and other such fattening restaurant foods. He felt especially worse, when majority of the ads particularly were targeted at over-weight people. As a healthier eater, and an American that is against the idea of ‘Obese America’. He told me he had continued his work for the campaign however, because the client had given specific instructions – after trying to vary away from the obvious target, the client was less-pleased with the work done.
Another experience he had in another firm, was working on a Tequila brand with higher alcohol content. At first, the advertising team’s work was very fair and good – however, they soon veered to targeting and appealing to college students. More specifically, they thought that using fraternity and sorority examples as ways to show the young, exciting brand name.
He felt this seemed unethical, mostly because they were trying to sell a high alcohol content product to a target market that is (more than likely) going to abuse the product in a harmful manner. I agree with this thought, and can understand the worry. However, at the same time this target market will abuse someone else’s product if it isn’t this one, right?
What I seemed to gather from the conversation with my professional, is that when it comes to advertising, there is a lot of time spent on ethical issues and dilemmas. What is worse, is that these dilemmas almost always are not black and white – they are the grayest of grays, and need special attention. So it makes the most sense that the truth should always be told. Many times, the reason people have such issues with advertisers is because they tell truths – but not all of them.
In the case of my professional, I feel as though he feels uneasier about selling people things that they don’t necessarily need. After a bit of research, I found that this is a problem many people feel the exact same way about. What I seem to have found, is that advertising is something that wrestles with the lines between ethical and right.
I can only imagine that my interviewee has been in some very uncomfortable situations throughout is newer career, and I am sure that he has stood on a very ethical ground while doing it. There are very scary places you can find yourself in ethically in the Advertising world, but knowing the responsibility you have to the consumers, there can’t be many that would completely dismiss this humanistic quality. My professional said that he has yet to work with someone who would completely dismiss these critically ethical rules. I hope when I find myself in the position to stand up to an unethical decision being made, that I do.
If there is a conclusion I have come to, after speaking with one of my professionals, it is that sometimes advertisers are asked by the client to advertise specifically to people – whether or not it would be good for that target. As harsh as it sounds, it comes down to the consumer to choose to go eat at Denny’s for a meal. Or if the alcohol commercials are aimed at college students, they know only above-the-age-limit adults can buy them.
Still, the original dilemmas can be questionable at the time they arise. I believe that a group of people working together to come to a solution that still pleases the selected client is the smartest way to avoid a terribly unethical ending.
Sources:
Ogilvy & Mather Article/Speech
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