Ethics In Advertising

Anthony Suszczynski

as309714@ohio.edu

Ethics codes are particularly important especially in the case of advertising. The first type of advertising that comes to my mind, where regulation is incredibly necessary, is pharmaceutical ads. So often we see commercials on television suggesting that we buy medication. Many of these commercials are well designed. They zero in on the consumer’s pain (literally) and use it as a way to convince the consumer to buy their product.

Scientific American wrote an article titled, How DrugCompany Ads Downplay risks.

In the article it is explained that in the United States, “pharmaceutical companies can lawfully market prescription medications to the public through direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.”

According to the article there are critics who believe that doctors should be deciding which medications to prescribe without being influenced by what their patients heard and watched on television. There has been an increase in patient demand for drugs advertised on television so it is obvious that the ads are effective. The American Medical Association supports a ban on these types of advertisements.

So how can groups such as the American Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Society of America ensure that no person is being hurt by these advertisements? On the AAF website is a piece titled, Principles and Practices for Advertising Ethics.

According to the AAF, there are eight principles and practices that lay out the ways in which forms of communications such as advertising should do the right thing for the customer. One of the Principles I found interesting and completely necessary is number three which reads, “Advertisers should clearly distinguish advertising, public relations and corporate communications from news and editorial content and entertainment, both online and offline.”

Graphic Source: aaf.org

I liked this because breaking news has the ability to create a higher sense of urgency, worry, fear, and action than advertising. So if a potential consumer cannot decipher the difference between what is news and what are advertisements then the potential consumer may purchase a product out of panic. The consumer’s mindset is different when evaluating news as compared to a commercial. The consumer should be treated ethically and not misled.

The AAF demonstrates with this graph the skepticism of the general public in regards to the amount of trust that they have for advertisers.

There are of course seven other principles and practices listed, but I would like to focus on them as a whole. Together, they work to protect the best interest of the consumer. Advertisements are already powerful as it is; so it unnecessary to act unethically. Both the businesses and consumers can live in a world where each group is treated fairly so as long as there are a set of guidelines and rules to follow to benefit all.