Occasionally we all come across

advertisements that we would consider

unethical. This is particularly true in the
case of the Internet, which is more difficult
to police than other forms of promotion and
advertising. The point is, what can we do
about unethical advertising? However,
before answering the question is it
important to understand the definition of the
term unethical.
Ethics are the social and moral values and
principles by which we live. These values
tell us what is good or bad and right or
wrong. To equate these to an advertising
environment one needs therefore to look a
little deeper. In this case, the question of
ethics can be further extended to those
promises made by an advertiser that are
either misleading or lacking in truth.
For example, if an advert promises that use
of their product will make the user look
seven years younger it is obvious that this
promise is wrong as no-one can be that
definite in the description and claims of their
product. However, to claim the product will
make you look younger, without a specific
age attached, could not be held to be
unethical. On the other hand, if an
advertisement promises you can buy a
certain product at a special price, with this
ploy simply a means of getting you to visit
his retail or Internet outlet, where you will
be offered an alternative that does not have
the benefits of the original, then it can be
considered unethical. Furthermore, if a
marketer makes false claims about a
product, for example suggesting that it is
recommended by others when this is clearly
not the case, this again can be perceived to
be unethical, as it is making a misleading
statement and misrepresenting the facts
simply to make you purchase the product or
service.
With regard to what you can do about
unethical advertising, there are several
options available. Firstly, you could
approach the organisation from which the
advertisement originated, outlining your
concerns regarding the ethics of the
promotional material they are distributing
through whatever source, and requesting
that this advertising be either withdrawn or
that they justify their actions. An important
thing to remember with this approach is to
contact the organisation whose product or
service is being promoted, not the
advertising agency. The former are far
more likely to respond positively to
consumer complaints.
If this first step does not produce the
desired result, the next is to approach the
publication or media through which the
advertisement was promoted. For example,
this point of contact could be the
newspaper, magazine or television station
that carried the advertisement. This
organisation will respond by informing you
of the action that they will be taking, which
can include their banning of the offending
advert, or explain their reasons for rejecting
your claim that the advertisement is
unethical.
In the event that you are still not satisfied
with the response given, the final step that
can be taken to address the issue of
unethical advertising is to lodge a complaint
either with the advertising regulator or an
appropriate commercial association, whose
members are expected to comply with a set
code of conduct. Most of these
organisations will act to ensure the integrity
of their profession.
Unethical advertising is not only
unacceptable, but also unfair and
potentially costly for the consumer. It is
therefore important, if you feel that an
advertisement falls within the category, to
take action to endeavour to have the
advertising campaign stopped or the
content altered.
Did you know that the average
contemporary consumer is exposed to
several thousand advertising messages per
day? These can be in the form of radio
spots, all-too-familiar TV commercials,
signage displayed on the side of the bus, or
even unsolicited text messages sent
directly to your mobile phone.
All of this ad clutter has caused many
consumers to develop almost an "ad-radar,"
often tuning out and ignoring advertising
messages. Advertisers realize this, and
they are constantly looking for new ways to
grab consumers' attention and break
through the clutter. Shock tactics have
proven quite lucrative. New media, such as
cellular technology and the internet, have
also not gone unnoticed by those seeking
to broadcast their advertising
communications.
Because of their increased boldness and
reliance on shock, ads are naturally going
to become less ethical and more offensive.
So what can you, the consumer, do when
exposed to an ad that gets your attention
for all the wrong reasons?

When unethical ads offend us by their

television commercials and other offensive
advertising there are several things we can
do: We can either ignore them, switch
channels, turn off our television, or we can
get good and mad and decide to do
something. What will we do?
If the advertisement offends us because it
is a lie, we can oppose that lie by telling the
truth to everyone we know. We can alert
the television company, the newspaper or
the company responsible for the unethical
advertisement that their ad is offensive and
it is wrong. We can present them with our
facts. If we are truly incensed and the
practice continues we can get our own
bandwagon and go on our own rebuttal
campaigns.
Yet, before we do any of this we find out the
real truth of the advertising and attempt to
see who is responsible for this particular
advertisement. We don't want to go off half-
cocked and steam and fuss and agitate and
do more damage to our side of the
argument when we know little about what
prompted the ad in the first place. And,
sometimes, it is best to ignore bad publicity
and let it run out of steam on it own. This
works because the public is not as dense
as it is often pictured to be by those selling
smut.
Offensive ads often play on sympathies of
the audience to make headway for their
cause. This we've been seeing in the
United States for a year or so now and it is
shameful and something should be done
about it. It is done in the name of politics
and no matter how much the public dislikes
the character assassination of political
candidates, the process continues. It is
phony and yet what can be done about it?
We can tell the head of the Republican or
the Democratic party we've had enough of
this type of political maneuvering and we
will have no more. We, the voting public
deserves better.
Advertisers once they have gotten away
with a few uncouth remarks or offensive
jokes and the general population has
seemingly turned their backs, will see this
as a sign that the audience is agreeable
and more ads will follow. A good example
of what can be done about advertising:
Once it was commonplace to see cigarettes
advertised on television and on sign boards
along the highways. Then the cancer scare
forced legislation banning the practice.
The same way with alcohol and drugs.
Alcohol is banned still and rightly so, but
the pharmaceutical companies are hawking
their wares to unsuspecting people who
often insist on being given medicines on no
more information than that is peddled in
their living rooms via television. Allowing
patients to actually see what's in the
doctor's little black bag is both good and
bad. It gives them more options into their
care which is useful but it often forces
doctors to go against their better judgment;
how many patients can they afford to lose?
They have offices to maintain and a staff
demanding pay.
What can be done? Less advertising by
the pharmaceutical companies and more
money spent on educating the public about
the diseases they are out to cure. There
simply is too much emphasis on buying
rather than on decision making. This is
what allows advertising to lead vulnerable
people into avenues they would be better
off bypassing.