Who can we beileive today?

Debra Blackburn

db303196@ohio.edu 

 

 

Advertising 

 

It is becoming more difficult to decipher between advertisements and news.  The Institute for Advertising Ethics has been created to maintain that all levels of communication even advertising is doing what is in the best interest of the consumer which in turn in the best interest of the business.

True or False?

 

 

         Video source: Top 10 Misleading Marketing Tactics, YouTube          

Public Relations Code of Ethics 

According to PRSA the professional values are: Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty and Fairness. These codes help ensure that the information flowing to the public is accurate and truthful to help maintain the democratic process.

Picture source: creativecommons.org.

 

 

Disclosure

Both PR and advertising agencies or individuals have strict guidelines for disclosing whether something is truthful, opinion, or paid advertising to be transparent to the consumer.  The PRSA has a core principle to disclose all information so that the public can make an informed decision.  The Federal Trade Commission requires all bloggers to disclose whether they have been given free product or paid/sponsored to provide positive reviews on a product they are blogging.  It is more difficult for someone on Twitter with a limited amount of characters the disclosure is typically lost after the first time it is shared.

Why the truth will prevail

According to Dan Shewman, Ethical Marketing has multitude of benefits. 92% of millennials are more likely to purchase products form companies they view as ethical.  From this group, 82% believe that ethical products out perform the similar companies who lack ethical principles.  The truth allows us to make educated choices when we are voting, choosing childcare providers, applying to colleges and selecting products to purchase.  Being mislead only causes us to have more distrust in the media.