PROJECT REPORT
ETHICS IN ADVERTISING DOMAIN
Submitted by
GROUP 1A
Pornab Ghosh
Aayushi Dubey
Hrishikesh Bhaumik
Aurnaub Bose
Varsha Kripalani
Tejesav Sharma
Ronak Shah Yatin
Month & year of submission November 2022
Ethics In Advertising
CONTENTS
SR. NO
PAGE NO.
1
Title
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2
Table of Contents
2
4
Summary of Ethics, Ethical Issues
3
5
Ethical issues (contd.)
4
6
Strategies and Roadmap
5-6
Ethics In Advertising
Ethics means a set of moral principles which govern a person’s behaviour or how the activity
is conducted. And advertising means a mode of communication between a seller and a buyer.
Thus, ethics in advertising means a set of well-defined principles which govern the ways of
communication taking place between the seller and the buyer. Ethics is the most important
feature of the advertising industry. Though there are many benefits of advertising but then there
are some points which don’t match the ethical norms of advertising.
An ethical ad is the one which doesn’t lie, doesn’t make fake or false claims and is in the limit
of decency.
Ethical Issues
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No place for deception and puffery.
Ads aimed at children should be controlled since it promotes superficiality.
Advertisers promoting theme parks and casinos etc. in the pretext of action shows in
TV without revealing sponsor’s name amounts to influencing children.
Promotion of controversial products, gambling, wagering in the media
Misleading Claims
Reinforcing Stereotypes
Use of Sex appeal
Hiding of Relevant Facts
Manipulative Ads
Surrogate Ads
Puffery
Misleading Claims
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In these ads, Company makes false claims regarding the style, history of a product or a
service.
Many steps Taken by SCI to stop misleading ads.
Many companies were forced to withdraw their ads because of misleading claims.
Reinforcing Stereotypes
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A stereotype is a representation of a group that emphasis a trait or group of straits that
may or may not communicate an accurate representation of a group.
Sometimes, Stereotypes are helpful and helps in the communication by using easily
understood symbolic meaning, but sometimes stereotypes are negative and exaggerated
E.g., Hero Pleasure
Ethics In Advertising
Use of Sex appeal
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Women are portrayed as a sex object seems to increasingly popular trends in the ads
Representing women’s in such a way devalues women’s Image and encourage sexual
harassment
Main objective of companies is to tempt/attract the mind of viewers esp. target to youth
Concealment of Facts
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Most of the advertisers conceal important information that is unflattering i.e., they
present only brighter side of the story
Concealment of facts results a severe ethical concern because when consumers are
deprived of comprehensive knowledge about the product, their choices will be distorted
Manipulative Ads
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In these ads, demand is created through emotions of people
Use different kinds if emotions to make their product sell
Pharmaceutical Advertising - They help creating awareness, but one catchy point
here is that the advertisers show what the medicine can cure but never talk about the side effects
of that same thing or the risks involved in intake of it.
Using Children in ads - Children are the major sellers of the ads and the product. They
have the power to convince the buyers. But when advertisers are using children in their ad, they
should remember not to show them alone doing their work on their own as everyone knows
that no one will leave their kids unattended while doing all these activities. So, showing parents
also involved in all activities or things being advertised will be more logical.
Surrogate Ads (Alcohol) - till today, there hasn’t come any liquor ad which shows
anyone drinking the original liquor. They use mineral water and sodas in their advertisements
with their brand name. These types of ads are called surrogate ads.
Cigarettes and Tobacco advertising- these products should be never advertised
as consumption of these things is directly and badly responsible for cancer and other severe
health issues. These as are already banned in countries like India, Norway, Thailand, Finland,
and Singapore.
Ads for social causes
- these types of ads are ethical and are accepted by the people.
But ads like condoms and contraceptive pills should be limited, as these are sometimes
unethical, and are more likely to lose morality and decency at places where there is no
educational knowledge about all these products.
Ethics In Advertising
Strategies And Roadmap
Ethical standards for advertising
Some of the key ethical standards for advertising apply to all brands and industries, requiring
those involved in the creation and rollout of ads to carefully review what they produce and
avoid violations. The following eight standards were established by the Institute for
Advertising Ethics (IAE) and administered by the American Advertising Federation in
partnership with two key journalism institutions located in the U.S.
Share a common objective of truth
One ethical standard for advertising is that all involved in the creation of an ad, including those
in the advertising, public relations, communications, editorial and news departments should
share a common objective of truth. Consumers value ethical and honest advertising, so
maintaining an objective to share the truth can help advertisers better appeal to a wide audience
while maintaining their ethics.
Obligation to high personal ethics in creating and sharing
commercial information
When creating and sharing information, advertisers have an obligation to exercise the highest
personal ethics. The mission of the IAE is to provide education to professionals in the
advertisement industry to produce true and ethical advertisements while demonstrating a high
level of professionalism.
Clearly disclose all material conditions and endorsement identities
Advertisers must maintain transparency about the conditions of this deal and whether the
people presented in the ad receive any compensation for their participation. Social media has
added a new layer of complexity to advertising in the form of influencers, or people who share
their opinions about products and services.
Distinguish between advertising and news or editorial content
One area in which consumers have been treated unethically more frequently is the
differentiation between advertising and editorial content or news. A press release should be
presented differently than an advertisement, but companies have started to mislead consumers
by presenting advertising content as editorial content to create confusion
Ethics In Advertising
Transparent usage of personal information
As marketers use enhanced methods to target online behaviours and actions, consumers
continue to worry about their privacy and how companies will use their information.
Advertisers have an obligation to consumers to provide transparency around the usage of their
personal information, as well as details on how any information they provide will be used.
Fair treatment of consumers
An advertiser must treat all consumers fairly, although stricter rules apply to the audience to
whom ads are directed and the nature of the services or products being represented. Products
geared toward children may have stricter advertising regulations in place because they are more
vulnerable and prone to being misled.
Permission to discuss ethical concerns
Advertisers and consumers should be able to bring up any potential ethical concerns when
developing and rolling out ad campaigns. Practicing and applying the highest ethical standards
requires those involved in the development of advertising campaigns to analyse the key
standards for ethics in advertising and ensure that what they share with consumers adheres to
those standards.
Follow all legal regulations
Advertisers must follow the legal regulations that apply to the industry, including any local,
state, and federal laws. Various self-regulatory bodies and programs exist to address and
resolve issues in advertising. Many advertisers rely on these programs to guide their actions
and better understand the importance of ethics.