This document discusses ethics in marketing communications. It covers topics such as social responsibility, ethics in advertising, sales promotion, research, advertorials and infomercials. It also discusses regulations and guidelines for advertisers to ensure marketing activities are conducted ethically. Some ethical issues discussed include stereotyping, advertising to children, promoting unhealthy products, and making exaggerated or misleading claims. The goal is to balance effective marketing with social responsibility and avoid exploiting or manipulating consumers.

1. Chapter - 21
Ethics in Marketing
Communications

2. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
2
Objectives
 Social Responsibility
 Ethics in Advertising
 Ethics in Sales Promotion
 Ethics in Advertising Research
 Ethics in Advertorials and Infomercials
 Regulations
 The Economic Effects of Advertising

3. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics
 Standards or moral principles which individual of groups follow
 Decisions are governed by principles
 If it is not done ethically, advertising won’t be trusted – Jef I.
Richards
 Marketing communication strategies come under fire for
 Encouraging materialism,
 Consumption,
 Stereotyping,
 Encouraging impulse purchase of products that a person does not
need
 Taking advantage of children
 Manipulating consumer behavior
 Using sex appeal to sell
 Contributing to the degradation of values

4. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Social Responsibility
 A social responsible business is one that engages not only in
activities that are profitable for the business but also beneficial to
the community
 Social responsibility involves being
 Ethical
 Accountable and
 Reactive to the needs of society
 Levels
 Level 1
 Companies which include social responsibilities in their business
philosophy
 Level 2
 Companies who sponsor messages that are aimed at promoting a social
cause

5. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertising
 Ethical issues in advertising
 Ethical Dilemma
 The pros and cons regarding a particular issue are even, where ethics
are concerned
 Ethical Lapse
 Unethical behavior that is a violation or deviation from standards
knowingly
 Conveying an accurate message through an advertisement while being
aware that it is wrong
 Parameters to know whether ad is ethical or not
 Advocacy
 What the advertising is trying to say is objective or neutral
 Accuracy
 Whether the claim made by the company is true and verifiable
 Acquisitiveness
 Whether it is promoting materialism

6. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertising
 Ethical Issues
 Puffery
 Making exaggerated claims about the product being advertised
 The claims can not be supported by evidence
 It cannot be considered illegal either but is preferable to avoid
 Taste
 Different people have different liking and tastes
 Ad which touch on sex, vulgarity, nudity, violence, and use double
entendre are considered in bad taste
 Stereotyping
 Give a particular image to a group of people
 Women with dark skin are unsuccessful in personal or professional life
 Ad promoting household products depicts women as housewives
 Men are used in ad which need a strong, intelligent, decision-making
image
 Some ads are targeted to racial group

7. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertising
 Ethical Issues
 Advertising to Children
 A company places a commercial message within or immediately
following a children’s program (Any program targeted at
individuals below 12 years)
 Children are impressionable and vulnerable therefore easy to
target
 Children attract the attention of advertisers because of their
increasing ‘Pester Power’
 Children could not be expected to be an authentic source of an
information
 Laws like the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and
the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Food Act
give only vague guidelines for regulating, advertisements
involving children

8. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertising
 Ethical Issues
 Promoting Unhealthy Products
 Most Aggressive ads are from junk-food sector. Ex. Adv., from
McDonalds, KFC, Pepsi and Cola.
 Most of the products high in Fat, sugar, salt beyond a limit.
 Promoting the products like Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription drugs,
Habits like gambling in casinos
 Subliminal Advertising
 Vicary coined the term subliminal advertising and formed the Subliminal
Projection Company based on a six-week test. Vicary claimed that during
the presentation of the movie ‘Picnic’. He used a tachistoscope to project
the words "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Hungry? Eat popcorn" for 1/3000 of a
second at five-second intervals. Vicary asserted that during the test, sales of
popcorn and Coke in that New Jersey theater increased 57.8 percent and
18.1 percent respectively
 A Message designed to pass the normal limits of perception…….yet
register on the consciousness
 Adv. aimed at a point below the normal threshold level of the audience

9. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Sales Promotion
 Contests and Sweepstakes
 Slotting Allowances

10. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertising Research
 Responses to be kept secret
 Methodology of survey should also be released
 Disguised Survey - unethical

11. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Ethics in Advertorials and Infomercials
 Advertorial
 An advertisement, in a newspaper or a magazine that has the
appearance of a news column or an editorial
 Readers confuse an advertorial with a regular editorial and
tend to take the discussion as emanating from a neutral party
 Make advertorials as a ‘Special Advertising Section’
 Infomercial
 A long television commercial (about 30 minutes) that gives
information about a product
 Viewers tend to believe the content has been prepared by an
independent source

12. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Regulations
 Make sure that the claims made by the company are verifiable and
do not offend people
 Framed to ensure that promotional activities are ethical
 Main purpose is to promote healthy competition and guard
customers from economic or physical harm
 Self-Regulation
 People involved in preparing promotional campaign -
manufacturers, advertising agencies, media - come together to
ensure that the communication is authentic and ethical
 Levels
 Self-discipline
 Pure self-regulation
 Co-opted self-regulation

13. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Regulations
 Self-Regulation
 Self-discipline
 The organizations make their own guidelines, standards and policies
and abide by them
 Pure self-regulation
 When companies from industry come together to form regulations
 Co-opted self-regulation
 The advertising industry voluntarily comes together to form a
regulatory body
 Regulatory Bodies
 Government has formed MRTPC through 1969 act. It is applicable
when
 Wrong information is conveyed
 Element of deception
 Consumer protection law is violated
 Manipulation of sales prices by seller

14. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Guidelines for Advertisers
 ASCI (The Advertising Council of India)- a representative body of people
from the world of adv and also draws experts from the industry and public
domain
 To maintain and enhance public confidence in ads - ASCI code of regulation
 Truthful and fair to consumer and competitors
 Within the bounds of generally accepted standards of public decency and
propriety.
 Not to be used indiscriminately for the promotion of products hazardous or
harmful to the society.
 Adv should be designed as to conform not only to the laws but also to the moral,
aesthetics and religious sentiments
 Ads likely to bring contempt or disrepute not permitted
 Ads should be truthful, avoid distorting facts and misleading information
 No exaggerated claims
 No Direct comparisons
 No indecent, vulgar, suggestive, repulsive or offensive themes
 No offer to refund money paid
 No derides any race, caste, color, creed, nationality.

15. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Guidelines for Advertisers
 Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
 Drugs Control Act 1950
 Copyright Act, 1957
 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
 Prize Competition Act, 1955
 Emblems and Names Act, 1950
 Consumer Protection Act, 1950
 Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986
 Code of Ethics by ASCI
 Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Act
 Some Common examples of non-ethical advertisements which were
banned by MRTP and ASCI…………………

16. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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The Economic Effects of Advertising
 Consumer Choice
 Competition
 Product Costs and Prices

17. Ethics in Marketing
Communications
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Summary
 Social Responsibility
 Ethics in Advertising
 Ethics in Sales Promotion
 Ethics in Advertising Research
 Ethics in Advertorials and Infomercials
 Regulations
 The Economic Effects of Advertising

18. Thank you