The Gray Areas of Ethics in Advertising

Cameron Knupp

ck900019@ohio.edu

It can be hard to operate in the gray areas prevalent in American advertising. For example, advertising and marketing professionals have to make tough ethical decisions on artificial intelligence, marketing to children, and controversial advertising products like tobacco.  

Artificial Intelligence 

As a relatively new tool for advertisers, Artificial Intelligence is one of the more nuanced ethical dilemmas advertisers face. AI can now analyze a person's internet activity to predict their behavior with chilling accuracy. 

Not surprisingly, this information is precious to advertisers. The question is, how at what point does the use of AI cross the line? Some feel that AI can understand a person so profoundly constitutes an invasion of privacy. 

Jason Jercinovic argues in his article that with such an ethical gray area, it is essential that advertisers have ethical guidelines to lean on. Further, he says that companies must be transparent in their methods of using AI and give the public a chance to opt-out of these practices. 

I couldn't agree more; a system must be in place so that people can feel comfortable on the internet without the fear that they are being spied on.  

Marketing to Children

Via People.com

Children's brains are underdeveloped, making them unable to distinguish between what is an advertising and legitimate content. That makes kids extremely impressionable, begging the question, is it ethical to advertise to kids who can't tell that you're trying to sell them something? One glaring example of this gray area is McDonald's Happy Meal. For decades, the fast-food giant has marketed toys tied to popular movies, TV shows, and games to get kids to beg their parents to take them to the restaurant. This commercial promotes Mcdonald's "Sing 2" Happy Meal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgY9Fp7nRbM). 

To their credit, Mcdonald's has made an effort to make their Happy Meals slightly healthier, but the fact remains that kids are more concerned with the newest toy than they are about the calories in their Happy Meal. 

Tobacco

The adverse health effects of tobacco are well documented. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/index.htm#:~:text=Smoking%20causes%20cancer%2C%20heart%20disease,immune%20system%2C%20including%20rheumatoid%20arthritis.) states that "smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis." 

With tobacco proven to be such a deadly product, many wonder if it is ethical to advertise it to the public. This fact is yet another gray area. On the one hand, I think that people must be responsible for their health. On the other hand, it seems unethical to promote such a dangerous product.