The State of Ethical Advertising

 Aaron Liles

al508219@ohio.edu

Image Source: IAE

Ethical Codes

There are 2 main ethical codes that exist for advertisers, The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and The Institute For Advertising Ethics (IAE). Both of these ethics codes strive to serve as a baseline for advertisers as they try to practice ethical advertising. Something that really stands out when looking at these ethics codes, is that honesty and transparency is one of the most important things. A great example of this is in the code of ethics for The PRSA, The PRSA states "We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public."

The IAE has also has a very thorough code of ethics, but what makes theirs unique is there specific use of 9 specific principles for ethical advertising. Many of these principles revolve around honesty, truth, and transparency. I do personally believe that both of these codes of ethics can be great in establishing a trust between a consumer and an advertiser. The big problem that can occur however is that if these codes are not followed or are ignored, the public's trust in advertisers can be severely harmed. These codes of ethics for the PRSA and IAE can both work extremely well in making ethical advertising, as long as they are properly used. 

Is Advertising These Days Following Proper Ethical Codes?

The world around us that we live in is always changing, and one of the biggest way it has changed is in the way see advertisements. Back even just as recent as 20 years ago, the main way people saw advertisements was through television, but now, with the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we are exposed even more often to advertising. But the key question remains, is advertising these days ethical? This is honestly a very tricky and complicated question to give a succinct answer to, as I think it is a little bit of both. I do believe most advertising companies try to follow the codes of ethics established by the PRSA and IAE, but there are definitely companies that do not follow the codes of ethics. 

For example, an advertising company that sends out numerous e-mails to a consumer would be an example of how not to follow the codes of ethics, as this could be considered an invasion of privacy because of the amount of e-mails sent. 

To wrap all of this up, ethics codes do work, but they have to be followed, and in the times we live in now, it is very up in the air on if all of these companies follow the codes.