ADS AND ETHICS
BY
B C KENNA RSM
2013
1
INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMME
ADS AND ETHICS
THE AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME
The aims are as follows:
1. To inform students about the ethics of advertising, and the work done
by The Advertising Bureau
2. To make students aware that advertisers aim to create needs for
products and services in their readers, viewers and listeners.
3. To teach students how to question, evaluate and judge ads.
4. To provide opportunities for students to express their learning verbally
and in writing, also to creatively engage in drama and art.
5. To provide opportunities for copying ads from TV, making DVD’s with a
camcorder, recording ads for/from radio, also developing the required
computer skills for all these activities.
6. To help students develop listening and sharing skills
FOR WHOM WAS THIS PROGRAMME WRITTEN?
It has been written for Junior Secondary students or above; pupils who have
had difficulties in the past with reading and comprehension. A parent, tutor or
teacher can read the programme to, and with the student. Both should have
copies of the text. It could be read from the computer screen or printed copies
may be made. The progress should be comfortable for the student. The leader
needs to explain anything that is difficult. Where information follows dot
points, pupils can be given time to memorize facts and express them verbally.
Most of the written exercises are a page in length or less.
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There is much repetition of facts in the programme and applying rules to
pictures. Students are asked to compare, evaluate and judge.
B C Kenna RSM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE NUMBERS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cover
Introduction
Page Contents
A code of ethics / Advertising Standards Bureau / Unlawful
contents
5. Task: true and false
6. A code of ethics for alcohol / Tasks
7. Questioning advertisements
8. A model answer for a questioning task
9. How we see images
10.Reading newspaper advertisements and questioning them
11.Task: Buy a Bike; Digital Alarm Clock – What information is missing?
12. How women are often portrayed in ads
13. How men are often portrayed in ads
14. The above is continued
15. What is forbidden in TV and Radio Ads.
16. Dictionary Research and the AIDA approach to Ad Structures
17. Appeals made by advertisers / Tasks
18. Tasks continued – Blake Education Format
19. More Tasks
20. The Structure of Radio Ads and tasks
21. Radio Ads Are Difficult to Make
22. The Language of Radio Ads/ Tasks
23. Conclusion
24. Copyright Rules for this Booklet and its Tasks
25. References
Most of the tasks can be repeated with different advertisements.
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ADVERTISING MEDIA
A CODE OF ETHICS
A code of ethics is about rules which control the media in Australia. These rules
are written by people who belong to a Government Board for the media. Their
purpose is to protect readers, listeners and viewers from lowering their
standards of behavior by viewing/reading/listening to offensive
advertisements or programmes, which might influence children, youth, or
people with mental disabilities. Children must be protected from “media
nasties”.
What is media? Media includes cinema, internet, bill-boards, printed material,
radios, TV, mobile phones, tablets and any other technologies which might be
produced in the future. Australia has a complaints’ department to which
people can write or visit if they are offended by anything on the media. It is
called the Advertising Standards Bureau. Some advertisements and
programmes might be guilty of using content which:
 Encourage users to break the law
 Mislead people by lying to them
 Turn readers, viewers and listeners against particular community groups,
e.g. different races, religions, sporting groups, businesses, individuals,
education groups, old, young, or disabled people.
 Exploit community concerns by polluting, encouraging anti-social or
unhealthy behavior, by provoking riots, drug taking, drunkenness,
spoiling property with graffiti, gambling, suicide
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 Exploit young people, children, females and males through nudity and
sex appeals
 Use excessive violence and showing dead bodies with horrific details of
blood or injuries
 Express strong, abusive language, or display characters frequently using
bad language
 Provide material that would harm health and safety
 Present ads about food, drinks and motor vehicles that do not observe
the rules of those particular industries.
It is up to all readers and viewers to be critical and judge what they see, hear
and read in the media. Information about where to contact the complaints’
department frequently appears on television. Before a person does make a
complaint, it is necessary that s/he is familiar with the dot-point items above
and below. Criticisms must be justified and writers must show clearly how the
particular media is offensive to sections of the Australian community.
Study the following ads and decide how they break the code of ethics.
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Write True or False After Each Statement
1. A code of ethics teaches advertisers what is good or bad in advertising. --------2. People should be critical of what they see, hear and read in the media. ---------3. An electric guitar is a media item. ----------4. Members of the Advertising Board cannot stop bad advertisements from
being printed or shown on TV. ----------5. It is all right to abuse and insult those you do not like, on the television. -------6. It is not O K to encourage people to be violent in ads. --------------7. A naked woman is a beautiful creature so ads can have nude ladies. -----------
A Code of Ethics for the Sale of Alcohol
(This is similar to the
Australian code.)
 Advertisements should not be directed at children or youth. Anyone
drinking alcohol must be over 18 years. Children should never be seen
drinking alcohol, but may be playing in the background of a family group
 Advertisements may not challenge anyone to drink alcohol, nor belittle
anyone who refuses to do so
 There must not be any references to sedatives or the drugging effects of
alcohol, but ads may recommend that it is a refreshing drink
 Alcoholic drinks may not be recommended because they have more or
less alcoholic content than other brands. They must not include any
reference to the pleasure of drunken effects
 Advertisements must leave out any reference to social, business,
sporting, sexual, or any other success which flows from drinking alcohol
 Any mention of driving dangerous machinery must not be in these ads,
but warnings may be given about the danger of driving vehicles, or
other machinery if under the influence of alcohol.
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 Advertisements may not encourage drunkenness by presenting the
people in them as attractive or “cool,” if they are buying repeated
rounds of alcoholic drinks.
 Women must not be used as sex objects, or victims of alcoholic abuse,
nor should men be portrayed as more powerful when under the
influence of alcohol.
TASKS
1. Study and copy the dot points in the advertising alcohol statement. Find
two or three different alcohol ads in magazines or newspapers. Compare them
with what is written in those statements.
Write down the good points about your ads.
If an ad breaks the code of ethics above, explain how it does this.
OR
2. Enter into your computer information search box – Advertising Standards
Bureau and search the site for the Australian code of ethics for advertising
alcohol.
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Questioning Advertisements
If these images were alcohol ads, what would they be saying to you?
Questions about images
1. What is this advertiser selling?
2. What particular audience is being targeted? Is it children, youth, adults?
3. Who is/are the main role-model/s in the ad? Think about their behavior.
Examine the colours used in the image. Are they attractive? Are the
models “cool”? Does their behavior have anything to do with the
product?
4. What message do you get from the behavior of the model/s?
5. Is this ad meant to be funny? Do you think it is funny?
6. List all the things you would like to know about the product that are
missing from this ad. For example – the cost of the product, the size?
7. How is the advertiser trying to attract customers? Is it through sex, using
“cool” models, humor, attractive colours, behavior that the viewer might
desire to copy?
8. Would this advertisement pass the standards of behavior set out in the
code of ethics? How?
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Look carefully at the picture. What is it advertising and is it a good ad?
A MODEL ANSWER FOR THIS TASK BASED ON THE QUESTIONS ABOVE
This image advertises an alcoholic drink and it is meant to attract young
people. The role models in the ad are a man and a young woman. The woman
is nearly naked and the man is fully dressed in a dark-blue suit. He is straddling
her in a sexually suggestive pose, holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand and
two glasses in the other. The location is the beach on a summer’s day. The
blues, cream, tan and white colours show contrast and are attractive. We
cannot see the faces of either model, but it suggests they are “cool” people.
The man, towering above the lady’s body suggests power, and she is in the
position of a helpless victim. A hidden message might be that the alcohol
makes him powerful and the business suit suggests that he is a successful
person. She has fallen under his spell. This ad implies more about sex to this
writer, than the product in the bottle.
There are no words with the image, but a larger picture does provide the brand
of alcohol on the bottle. There is no information about the price or size of the
contents. One presumes it can be purchased at any liquor outlet.
The advertiser is trying to attract customers using sex, power and alcohol,
implying that those who drink this liquor will enjoy such rewards. This ad
would not pass the Standard of Ethics for advertising liquor, because of its
gender abuse – seductive male power over a helpless female; it depicts a
woman as a sexual object and it implies that alcohol is a factor in bringing
about the male’s success and sexual power.
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HOW WE SEE IMAGES
Some people would say we see images with our eyes, but that is not
completely true. Since we were infants we have been seeing all kinds of things.
Their images have been stored in our memory within the brain. The eye nerves
carry the image to the brain, but the brain makes sense of it. The older we get,
the more we see and understand about our visions. Imagine a toddler who
sees a pretty flame in a gas jet. He reaches out to touch it because he doesn’t
know it can hurt him. This learning comes later, when he realizes why all the
family members keep him away from the stove.
The deeper meanings of what we see, read and hear are hidden under the
surface of the images presented. Life’s experiences teach us about their fuller
meanings. When we say, “Read between the lines,” that is what we mean –
look for other meanings beyond the surface of the image. That is why two
people can look at the same picture and interpret it differently. We are people
with different experiences. That influences our interpretation of images. There
is an old saying which expresses this meaning clearly –
Two men looked through prison bars,
One saw mud, the other saw stars.
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READING NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS
In our next lot of tasks, we are going to examine newspaper ads to find out
what they are saying to us and what important information is left out of them.
Here are some questions which might help you to determine these things.
 What information has the advertiser provided?
 Has it told you the good things the product or service can provide?
 Are you informed about where you can buy this item or service? What
does it cost?
 Do you know its size, weight, contents, materials, or what it can do for
you, or to you?
 Is this product suitable for children and youth, or just for adults? Does
the ad make that clear?
 Are there any dangers associated with this item? Are the buyers warned
about them?
 If it is an electrical appliance or a vehicle, are guarantees provided about
its effectiveness and safety?
 How long will the company allow the buyer to return the item, or
complain about the service? The last two points are about a
WARRANTY.
 If it is food or drink, does it have a “use-by” date? If so, for how long can
you keep it before it spoils? For how long can it be kept in a deepfreeze?
 Is there anything in this ad which would break the code of ethics?
Add any other information you think is necessary. Copy these questions to
use with ads.
-------------------------------------------You may notice that there is much repetition in the questions and
statements of ethics. This is done deliberately so students will reinforce
their knowledge.
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Task
Examine the two advertisements on the next page. Write down what
information they contain. Then write about the important information that
is missing.
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How Women Are Often Portrayed in Advertisements
Look at these images of women in various ads. What do you notice about all of
them?
How often do you see a fat or an elderly woman portrayed? Do you ever see a
tired looking mother with several children advertising baby oil? How many
poor women do you see advertising budget meals? Do you consider the girls in
the above ads sexy?
When young people see thin and shapely women in most ads, what does that
do to their body image? How do these models become so thin? Is it always
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healthy to become as thin as these models? Why? Why not? Discuss these
questions.
How Men Are Often Portrayed in Advertisements?
Look at the men in these ads. What do you notice about them?
Write a caption under each picture describing the males.
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Television and Radio Advertisements
All of what has been said about the codes of advertising standards in this
programme, can be repeated for television and radio ads. The following
is forbidden:
 Violence: sustained, relished or detailed, bloodied or horrific. Sex
acts that are forced on another.
 Sex and Nudity: Detailed nudity in a sexual context or a clear
expression of sex acts.
 Language: Very crude language that is frequent, aggressive or
threatening.
 Drugs: Detailed presentation of drug use, or instruction and
encouragement of illegal drug use.
 Suicide: Realistic presentation of suicide methods or
encouragement of suicide.
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Dictionary Research
Use a dictionary to find the meanings of these words. Write out the meanings
in your workbook.
Violence:
Sustain: (sustained)
Relish: (relished)
Horrific:
Context:
Nude: (nudity)
Crude:
Presentation:
Detailed:
The Structure of all Advertisements
The authors of a series of media books – Targeting Media by A Lopez et al, use
the AIDA approach A for Attention: Grabbing the audience’s attention
I for Interest: Using musical jingles, pictures or action to keep the audience
interested. Oh, what a feeling, Toyota!
D for Desire: Stimulating the audience to buy the product e.g. advertising
lovely food around viewers’ meal times
A for Action: Making the ad so attractive, that audience members will want to
go out and buy the product as soon as possible. “Buy now and get one for
free!”
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Task
Discuss some of the TV ads that have done the following to you. Explain how
they did this.
 Grabbed your interest
 Made you desire the product
 Made you go out and buy the product
Appeals Made by Advertisers to their Audiences
Advertisers appeal to our thinking, offering viewers explanations, comparisons
or demonstrations of their products. An example might be a household
electrical appliance, like a vacuum cleaner.
Fear can motivate people to buy items. For example, anti smoking ads that
display parts of a cancerous body.
Emotional Appeals: the Traffic Accident Commission (TAC) often makes use of
such appeals by showing crashed vehicles with bodies or clothing nearby, as a
result of alcohol or speed. Some food ads make you feel hungry by displaying
them near meal times. Other emotions are sadness, anger, joy, surprise, worry.
Sex Appeal: Images on pages 5 and 9 are examples of this. Often the product
has no relationship to the image.
Humor: Viewers are amused by the funny antics of children and animals in ads.
Sometimes the speakers say smart or funny things to attract attention.
All of the above are enriched by music, jingles, little stories, catchy phrases and
pop music that draw the attention of viewers. Often, it is the most annoying ad
that makes people pay attention. This writer grinds her teeth every time
Christine gives that silly little wave from her red car in the APIA ad!
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Tasks
Students can copy their favorite or least favorite ad on to disk and display it on
a DVD or computer to class members. It must be from a commercial TV
channel. The teacher should model the following exercise on a white board, an
appropriate number of times before the students attempt it.
Use the following Blake Education format to write up the ad.
1. Target audience
2. Appeal e.g. Is the appeal to save work? Is it humorous? Is it to save
money?
3. Language features e.g. formal language or colloquial?
4. Draw the brand name or logo (symbol) for this company.
5. Characters: Describe what they are doing.
6. Setting: Explain how it helps create the mood and the place where the
product/service is used.
7. Music: Describe how it helps to create interest in the ad.
8. Action: What are the main ideas of the ad?
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Stereotyping in advertisements
The word stereotype means to model or make patterns of what already
exists. See how the people in ads copy or mirror society in what they wear,
how they behave and speak. Note how the characters in ads repeat what
happens in real life.
Examples: If lunch wraps are being advertised, a woman will usually be the
main character using the wrap, dressed as a house-wife. The setting will be a
kitchen. She will speak in a friendly way, explaining the advantages of the
lunch-wrap.
If a car salesperson is selling a new or old model car, it will usually be a man in
a smart pair of slacks, shirt and maybe a tie. The setting will be a car showroom with the vehicle in the picture. He will tell the audience several technical
facts about the car – mag wheels, power steering, four air-bags etc.
When a doctor or chemist appears on our screens they will speak more
formally about medical items or matters and usually they wear suitable
medical or formal clothing.
Tasks:
View a variety of TV advertisements and discuss the stereotypes used. Write
about the stereotypes under these headings.
1. Setting:
2. Character’s Role:
3. Language:
4. Clothing:
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5. Mood – formal or informal:
6. Action:
7. Appeal:
Task
Make a list of any products you have been influenced to buy from TV, radio or
print advertising. What attracted you in the ad and motivated you to go and
buy that product? Was the item you bought satisfactory? Why? Why not? Do
you watch the TV ads, or find something else to occupy you when they appear?
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Radio Advertising
Listen to a number of commercial radio ads before discussing the following
statement.
“It has been said that radio advertisements are the hardest to make.
Why?”
The structure of a radio ad is similar to the following:
 Introduction with a dialogue or a drama alerting the listeners to a
problem
 The main point of the problem is repeated for emphasis
 A solution to the problem, naming a product or service, is stated with
great enthusiasm and repeated
 There is much repetition of the product or serviceperson’s name
 Someone else is brought in to say how well the product or service
responded to his/her problem. There is repetition of where the solution
can be contacted
 Finally, there is a voice-over conclusion to the ad.
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Language used in radio advertisements aims to do the following:
 Grab the attention of the listener
 There must be strong imagery in the words used - nouns, adverbs and
adjectives e.g. A carving knife with a deadly sharp, thin blade … nouns
underlined, adjectives blackened.
 Natural sounding dialogues, which mimic everyday language with
acceptable slang usage and maybe humor.
 For the conclusion there is a more formal voice, speaking with authority
Tasks
1. Listen to some radio ads and identify the different parts of the above
structure.
2. Jot down some of the descriptive words or phrases used by the
characters in the ad e.g. chill out; a huge range of new and second-hand
air-conditioners
3. Listen to an ad and identify the different sounds that are used –
dripping, flowing water, sirens etc.
4. How many radio and T V jingles or catch-phrases can you quote?
5. Using the ad structures and language features provided in these pages,
write an advertisement for an imaginary product on radio. You can
engage others to act out the ad, or play the various roles yourself.
Include some sound effects. Record it.
6. What ad on TV or radio do you really love to hate? Describe it. Explain
why it annoys you. (Do you know that some ads are deliberately made to
annoy the listeners/viewers, for the purpose of catching their attention)
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REMEMBER, ADS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!
AD MAKERS ARE CON ARTISTS!
DON’T BE A SOFT TOUCH!
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Copyright Rules in Relation to This
Publication
The following information has been extracted from an article written by the
Australian Copyright Council, found on the internet at the following site –
info@copyright.org.au
Key Points
“You will not infringe copyright if you use material, provided that your use
is fair.” Examples of fair dealing are provided on page 1. The article
describes “fair” as:
 10% of the number of pages
 One chapter, if the work is divided into chapters
 10% of the number of words
On pages 2 and 3 there are answers under this heading – Some Common
Questions. One question asks: Can I copy graphics for a school, TAFE or
university projects? Answer: Generally, yes, provided your copying is fair.
For newspapers and magazines, the whole article may be copied as long as the
author’s /owner’s name is recorded on the reference page. Videos and DVD’s
can be copied for study, research and analysis purposes.
All images used in this study booklet titled, Ads and Ethics, have been
downloaded from various sites on Google. And the writer of the booklet is
grateful to the Google Company for their use. As the names of the artists who
provided the pictures are not included on the image pages, they cannot be
included here.
Ads and Ethics is not for sale; it is a free text for all who wish to study it.
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REFERENCES
Advertising Standards Bureau – advertisingstandardsbureau.com.au is the
source of Codes of Ethics, page 1 of this booklet.
Lopez A. et al – Targeting Media, Television and film (Middle High School)
Blake Education, Glebe, NSW. 2,000 structure of all advertisements – the
AIDA approach, page 80. See page 12 of this booklet and Blake education
format, fully reproducible BLM 22, page 87. See page 14 of this booklet.
Lopez A. et al – Targeting Media. Radio and Multimedia, (Middle High School)
Blake Education, Glebe, NSW. 2,000, Structure for radio advertisements and
language features, pages 9 – 10. See pages 17, 18 in this booklet.
Niven C and Youngson C, Advertising in Action, Hodder and Stoughton,
Sydney, 1989. Appendix 2, pages 26-27: Advertising for alcoholic drinks. Page
3 of this booklet.
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