Fake News and Ethical Advertising

Madison Massey

mm792814@ohio.edu

In this day and age advertisers and consumers have their work cut out for them. A lot of consumers these days do not trust advertisements, or think that they are over the top and sometimes they aren't wrong. On top of consumers being weary of some ads, they are also only reacting well to a specific types of advertisements. As shown in the graph below, consumers remember products more with funny advertisements. While funny advertisements get the best reviews from consumers, it makes advertisers question if consumers just enjoy the laugh, or if it actually makes them interested in buying the product that is being presented to them.

 

Source: Forbes

There is no question that society is more skeptical than ever when it comes to believing the media. The term "fake news," is probably something you've heard tossed around hundreds of times. Because of how often this word is used, I think we tend to only think if it in regards to reporters, news papers, etc.

While it is often addressed many times in the press surrounding the media, it also needs to be addressed in advertising. We've all seen advertisements that seem misleading or too good to be true, but have we ever, as a consumer, taken actions against it?

As someone employed by an advertising agency you have the responsibility to not only make the product appeal to the audience, but also uphold ethical responsibilities.

The National Advertising Division, is one council that is in place to help distinguish the honest advertisements from the misleading or dishonest ones. Having councils like the NAD in place hopefully scare some advertisers from taking advantage of consumers.

Celebrities are also to blame for false or unethical advertising. These days, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, have millions of followers that view their profiles everyday. Companies that pay celebrities to endorse products that they don't actually use should definitely be considered a type of unethical advertising. Many of these products include weight loss supplements or different hair and beauty products.  Consumers see these celebrities with flat stomachs and shiny hair and are often tricked into buying these products.

However, the internet has made it much more difficult for advertisers to create unethical advertisements. This is mostly because consumers now have access to reviews almost instantaneously. If you're unsure about a product, you most likely scroll down to the reviews and read what real customers have to say. Sometimes just seeing that a product only has 2 out of 5 stars is enough to deter a consumer from purchasing a product. Reviews from real customers insures that advertising firms are held accountable. 

While there is "fake news"  as well as false advertisements out there, we can only remain hopeful that the media will hold themselves to high standards.