Assignment Nr.

INGRIDA DASHI

Course: Business Ethics

Instructor: Louis L. Boros

Class Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (17:30 – 21:30)

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 The Albanian business environment is developing at a very rapid pace thus facing

new challenges that do require innovative solutions. The growing competition among

Albanian firms as well as the removal of barriers to foreign competition has increased the

consumers’ product or service awareness. As the availability of products and services is much

higher compared to some years ago their marketing has become a very important process.

During the last 10 years, media has played a crucial role in promoting business as well

as increasing consumer’s awareness on various features that distinguish one product or

service from the other. However, media’s ethical appeal is still far from the western

countries’ standards. For the purpose of this essay, I have selected two different commercials

that I will analyze in details.

The first commercial relates to “Glina” a well-known sparkled water brand in

Albania. It is derived from the famous source of Glina in the city of Gjirokastra. The

commercial has been organized at Tirana’s artificial lake. For the purpose of realizing the

commercial, the company had established a table that would fit 400 people sitting around.

Those sitting on the table were people of different gender, age and social approach. Everyone

was drinking Glina. At the end of the commercial, there is a child drinking Glina while

immediately after that, a written verse suggests that Glina natural sparkled water is derived

from the original source of Glina.

The Glina commercial uses a combination of music and gestures rather than words.

There is no oral communication between the participants. Under a very interesting music,

various people walk, dance and play independently but they all sit under the same table and

they only drink Glina. At the end of the commercial, an outside voice states that Glina is the

drink that unites us. So the language used does not really provide any specification on the

attributes of this product. It only suggests that Glina is a healthy water as it can be consumed

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by children and it also suggests that Glina is consumable by everyone belonging to a different

gender, age or social approach.

As with regard to the target audience, I do believe that Glina is not targeting a niche

market segment, rather it is appealing to a very wide audience. However, they are specifically

appealing to those who are aware and do value the curative abilities that Glina possesses. Yet,

the commercial is focused on youngsters who are looking for healthy ingredients to grow as

well as to elder people which want to live longer.

The attitude that is being supported by the commercial is mostly related to the joy of

life. Glina brings joy into our lives, it brings freshness and it also keeps us healthy. So, the

attitude that is being supported is the one suggesting to feel free to enjoy life while taking

care of our health.

The image that the commercial is trying to establish is Glina being perceived as a

natural sparkling and curative water. Consumers are persuaded to believe that the source from

which Glina derives has certain features that make it the healthiest drink. So, Glina is simply

projecting an image of health, freshness and unity.

If we analyze the commercial, we can identify an ethical approach related to it. First,

the company persuades its consumers to believe that Glina is a naturally sparkling water

derived directly from its source. There is little awareness among consumers with regard to the

true nature of Glina water. It actually derives from the source of Glina in the area of

Gjirokastra, but it is artificially sparkled in Glina’s factories where it is also bottled. These

information is distorted once transmitted to consumers. Glina appeals to its audience as being

a naturally sparkling water and this is clear once you watch the commercial; however, I

believe that the process of distorting the information delivered to the consumers is unethical.

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 Finally, I shall emphasize that Glina is investing widely on shaping consumers’

perceptions with regard to its curative attributes. The source of Glina in Gjirokastra is well

known in Albania since the communist regime and the company is capitalizing on the brand

to make people believe that they are simply distributing the pure, natural and sparkling water

as it derives from the source.

The second commercial that I would like to analyze relates to “Eagle Mobile” a

Mobile Company operating in Albania. The “I am an Eagle” commercial is played by James

Belushi a famous Hollywood actor, which is Albanian by origin. The commercial begins with

Mr. Belushi flying to Albania. While seating next to the window, he notices an eagle flying

and starts thinking of the various attributes that an eagle has, such as strength, pride and

beauty. Even as he lands in Albania the eagle is always next to him. At the end he realizes

that he is also an eagle.

To provide a brief background analysis, I shall say that the Eagle is Albania’s national

symbol, reflected in its flag also. Prior to Eagle Mobile joining the Albanian Mobile

Communication market, there were only two Mobile companies operating in Albania, AMC

& Vodafone. Both of them were perceived as Greek companies as the majority of their shares

were controlled by Greek investors. Even though we are neighbor countries, Albania’s

historical ties with Greece have generally been tense.

Turning back to the commercial, we can see that the spoken language is English as

James Belushi does not speak Albanian. During his flight as well as during his travel in

Albania all his thoughts regarding the attributes of an eagle are voiced. However, those who

do not understand English can read the Albanian translation of Mr. Belushi’s thoughts. Still,

the words used to describe the eagle do not provide any specific benefit that consumers will

get by using Eagle Mobile.

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 Since the commercial has a very strong emotional appeal, the target audience that it is

trying to reach relates to all the mobile service users who actually feel proud of being

Albanians. Trying to distinguish itself from its perceived Greek competitors, through this

commercial Eagle Mobile is appealing to Albanians’ pride.

The attitude that the advert supports relates to us being all eagles (the national

Albanian symbol), as well as proud of our origins. It is more an emotional rather than a

rational approach. It does not deliver any concrete offer on how services are to be improved

and prices to be lowered but it simply argues that every Albanian is an eagle and every eagle

uses Eagle Mobile. It is a patriotic attitude that boosts emotions while hiding rationality.

The image that is being supported by the commercial is that of Albanians being proud

of their origin. James Belushi, a famous Hollywood actor (Albanian by origin) realizes that

he is an eagle. An eagle is strong, fast, beautiful and it is defined as being the king of skies.

By making a simple analogy, Albanians are also kings in their own land. The commercial

imposes that no true Albanian can actually use another Mobile service.

There is definitely an ethical approach related to this commercial. The advert is

capitalizing on the mutual disagreements existing between Albanians and Greeks. It is

contributing in deepening these controversies. I find it very unethical, if you create an

advertising campaign appealing simply to Albanian’s emotions. I shall remind that the

commercial does not mention anything with regard to improvement of services or lowering of

prices. I think that this ethical approach is easily identifiable through the commercial.

In conclusion, I shall state that the commercial relies on strong ethnic grounds. Eagle

Mobile has tried to capitalize on the not very positive feelings Albanians have toward Greeks.

They appeal to Albanian’s emotions without defining their superior attributes.

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