moral-marketing - Tumblr blog

[moral-marketing]

Moral Marketing

How many times have you seen a misleading advertisement and thought, “how do they even get away with this?” You’re not alone. Any consumer can see that companies large and small barely stay within legal marketing boundaries to get away with blatantly tricking us.

Brands have a long history of using deceit, physiological manipulation, and truth twisting to draw in consumers. The ways in which they deceive us are vast, humans are shockingly susceptible to their cognitive tricks.

If they’re caught, they use their deep pockets to swiftly pay any fees and accept a slap on the wrist. They can continue practicing the same immoral tactics for the sake of deepening their pockets even further.

However, with the rise of connectivity and online communication, it will be much harder for companies to continue these unethical practices without more severe consequences. One study even showed that this generation values trust over everything else and puts their money where their morals are. [1] Many brands are paying attention to trends and finding that people are making purchases from companies that uphold the same values they uphold, and they’re reaping the rewards.

Our society's marketing and advertising tactics have always been largely immoral, and at best purposefully misleading, but it’s time for that to change. Ethical marketing is not only possible but profitable and brands would benefit from switching to a more honest, transparent form of advertising.

[moral-marketing]

What is Ethics?

"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do." The quote is from Potter Stewart who retired from the Supreme Court Justice of the United States in 1981.

[moral-marketing]

The Philosophy of Ethics in Advertising

The philosophy of ethics, or Metaethics, is the discipline concerned with what is morally right and what is morally wrong. Explaining the difference between right and wrong is not as simple as it seems and has been the topic of many philosophers throughout history. Some would say that what is moral is simply what benefits society, is fair, and truthful, but it may not be so simple when applied to advertising.

The truth doesn’t always sell products. Microsoft states that “Ethical advertising is about truth, fairness, and equity in messaging and consumer experience. An ethical advertisement is honest, accurate, and strives for human dignity.” [2]

[moral-marketing]

The History of Advertising

Advertising is a naturally occurring phenomenon dating back to as early as 3000 BC. Newspaper advertisements can be traced back to 1704, [3] and from there, advertising in media was truly born, and subsequently false advertising. Advertising is meant to persuade, and the themes and techniques of that persuasion reveal a part of the nation's history. [4]

Advertisements haven’t just been unethical in the way they trick us out of our money, they also had a tendency to be downright offensive. While ethical standards in ads have improved in modern times, we still have a long way to go. 

So, what does advertising look like now? There are many different methods employed by brands and it can be daunting to try to navigate life without being manipulated by them in some way. By learning the ins and outs of immoral advertising, we can more easily spot the difference between an ethical brand and an unethical one.

[moral-marketing]

Historical Advertisement

Do you see anything immoral about this ad from the 1800s? [4] 

Hint: The value of the cooking thermometer is listed at 4 times the sale price. 

Is the value really a dollar, or is it a marketing tactic?

[moral-marketing]

Sexist Advertisement

Even just 60 years ago it was hard to find an ad that wasn’t openly racist or sexist. 

[moral-marketing]

Persuasive Techniques

Continuing, besides the main foundation for advertising, they also use smaller but effective techniques in order to garner a person’s interest. These ad appeals play right into a person’s mind through significant wording and imagery. Some of these techniques, but not all, are bandwagon, explicit claims, humor, and loaded language.

Bandwagon refers to advertisements that showcase the idea that everyone is doing it. It showcases that if you want to be in the in-crowd, then you will also take part in, buy, and use the product. They cater to the idea that people do not want to be left out or left behind so they will interact with the product to stay relevant and not be left out.

Explicit claims is the advertisement strategy where a specific claim is made. They clearly and fully express an idea or demonstrate it. It is basically a promise to the consumer that an action will happen when they use the product. Some common examples would be advertisements possibly stating “Works in 5 minutes” or “Will whiten your teeth after thirty days of use.” These claims can be proven true or false very quickly.

Humor works in ads when they want to grab the attention of the audience through laughter. They make a joke of some sort, to induce the viewer's laughter and then showcase the product. Since lighter usually equals happiness, the advertisers are trying to connect laughter, a good experience, with their product. An example of this is in a Pepsi commercial when they were trying to make fun of their competitor, Coca-Cola. They showcased a Pepsi can wear a cape with the Coca-Cola logo on it with the caption “We wish you a scary Halloween!” [10](Kurichenko). It gets a laugh with what they are implying.

Loaded Language is where an advertisement is full of intense language full of superlatives, comparatives, hyperboles, exaggeration, and many other ways to build excitement around the product. This language includes but is not limited to words like “greatest,” “new,” “improved,” “fewer calories,” and much more. These tactics are centered around hyping up their product and making it seem better than other products or past models of the item.

Overall, these persuasive techniques incite a certain reaction in the viewer. They further play into the consumers' mindsets and emotions to get them to interact with the advertised items. The ads play into their sense of humor, reaction to bold language, insecurities, wanting to fit in, and more in order to get them to buy the product.

[moral-marketing]

Cognitive Biases

Furthermore, advertisements also interject into a person’s cognitive biases. Since a person has a bias built up upon years of information, advertisers may try to interject their product into it by either going along with the bias or trying to challenge it. Much of this can be seen in the language the advertisers use; using claims such as “You know it is a good product” or “Better than the leading brand” or other advertisements using similar language. In turn, this is building upon what the consumer already knows. If it is a reputable product that they have had a good experience with before, people tend not to stray from it. It builds a certain loyalty between the company and the consumer.

So in advertisements, the company may implement a large number of advertisements of their product to loyal customers. Continuing, if something happens with competitors since it would shake those consumers' cognitive bias over a product, they may try to use advertising techniques to persuade that loyal following over to their product.

Also, advertisements do generally play into a cognitive bias which can be seen in the persuasive techniques discussed previously. They play into a person's cognition and beliefs in order to persuade a person to buy a product. If they see something in advertisements that they relate to, then the consumer is more likely to look up and interact with the product.

Overall, many cognitive techniques in advertising play on the population's bias and feelings towards certain ideas or products, they play on what they expect to hear or see.

[moral-marketing]

Immoral Advertisements

When looking at advertising in general, a lot of what companies employ tricks the viewer into a different mindset. This can be from false promises, the size of the boxes, to the prices. In many cases, this is done in order to trick the consumer so the company gains a substantial profit from its marketing tactics. These tricks can be seen in every form of advertising from billboards, to commercials, to posters, to digital media graphics; all of it is done to make the consumer believe that their purchase was the best possibility for the product from the number of items it includes to the prices.

[moral-marketing]

Confusing Deals and Prices

The most common time to see deals or sales is around the holidays. In these cases, a lot of companies drop their prices in order for more of their product to be sold in time for the special occasion. In order to make the consumer look like they are getting the best deal, they may purposely inflate the price and then drop it back down just in time for that specific time of the year. Many companies and stores do this in order to make it seem like the consumer is getting the best deal possible compared to the pricing from earlier in the year but in many cases, it is shown to be false.

Continuing, the general pricing of items is also generally confusing so adding deals on top of it makes it difficult to navigate. When looking at one specific item, it is commonplace that you can find it at a different store for a better or worse price. This makes the consumer continually search for the best price, spending a lot more time looking into an item that they should have. Then when they pick a place, they think they are getting the best possible deal but there is always somewhere better to buy the item. With all the confusing pricing centered around the product, from the store prices to advertised prices, people are continuously spending more time trying to find deals when the best one might actually be a mid-range price when you factor in taxes and shipping expenses.

[moral-marketing]

How do they get away with it?

In advertisements, they tend to stretch the truth or use mostly lies with a thinly woven thread of truth in them. A lot of advertisements do raise an eyebrow with the claims they make but it is a matter of whether any action is taken toward proving the claims are true or false.

Many people see the advertisement, have a quick reaction, and then move on with their day. This is because “the average American is inundated with between 3000 and 5000 advertising messages per day in various forms” [6](Roberts).

People see so many different types of advertisements, each with varying messages and claims that many people turn a blind eye to advertisements and don’t really give them a second thought.

[moral-marketing]

Free Speech

In advertisements, there is a certain level of free speech in commercial speech. Before a certain time, there was no regulation prohibiting certain types of commercial speech. After a few cases, the Supreme Court determined that there need to be valid restrictions on commercial speech to protect consumers.

They recognized that “commercial speech received free-speech protection” but needed to create a test that evaluated restrictions; so in the Central Hudson case, they crafted the Central Hudson test which would help “ ‘determine whether the expression is protected by the First Amendment:

For commercial speech to come within that provision, it at least must concern lawful activity and not be misleading. 

Next, we ask whether the asserted governmental interest is substantial.

If both inquiries yield positive answers, we must determine whether the regulation directly advances the governmental interest asserted and whether it is not more extensive than necessary to serve that interest’” [11](Hudson).

This means that there are certain principles in advertisements and certain requirements that they must adhere to. The test allows the Supreme Court to make decisions on advertisements and whether the specific marketing strategy is protected or not. With this, the Federal Trade Commission was created in order to take action against fraudulent advertisements. The Federal Trade Commission “enforces these truth-in-advertising laws, and it applies the same standards no matter where an ad appears” [12](Staff).

Overall, these policies and commissions were implemented to keep a degree of truth in advertising. By monitoring the validity of the advertisement, consumers are much safer when looking into products. With these policies in place, advertisements must incorporate a degree of truth into their marketing strategy, they can't outright lie, so in turn, they twist the truth to a degree where the consumer can’t get mad at it or call for false advertising.

[moral-marketing]

Society’s Standards

Advertisers get away with a lot of misleading advertisements in society, mainly because we are used to them. At every turn on the digital or the outside world, we come into contact with so many advertisements that we just gloss over them. If they do not directly relate to or pertain to the consumer, people will just move right past it, not giving it a second glance. When there is nothing about it that captures our attention, we tend to just keep moving forward with what we were doing previously whether it is scrolling through a social media site, moving onto a television program after a break from sponsors, or walking or driving past billboards or posters. Many of the advertisements just don’t gather enough attention for anyone to do anything about it. Furthermore, if a person does not like the advertised product, they tend to just leave a bad review, possibly ask for a refund and then move on with their day. People don’t want to get involved with things that they see as a waste of time, so they tend to not take action.

Now for those who do take action, there is typically a very expensive lawsuit, mostly against notable brands that get a lot of immediate attention but fades away due to the collective's attention shifting to some other issue or event. Most notably, some brands that had scandals that cost them millions are:

Volkswagen had a lawsuit filed against them after they had an advertising campaign claiming to have “Clean Diesel” vehicles. In 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit claiming the company was misleading its consumers with false advertising. This is backed up by, in the year prior, Volkswagen was exposed for cheating emissions tests on its diesel cars for several years. They sold thousands of cars based on these false claims so they were fined for false advertising and for violating the Clean Air Act [13](Rath).

Red Bull was sued for the slogan “Red Bull gives you wings.” They were sued by Beganin Carathers plus others who did not develop any wings or show any signs of improved mental or physical capabilities. He sued for false advertising and the company settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay out millions including ten dollars to any consumers who bought the drink since 2002 [13](Rath).

L’Oreal had a lawsuit filed against them for their advertising claims that their product was “clinically proven to boost genes.” The Federal Trade Commission claimed that these advertising statements were false and unsubstantiated after it was proven that L’Oreal’s advertising claims were false. They were banned from making specific claims about aging and would be fined for any future violation of this agreement [13](Rath).

Overall, companies at times do get caught with their misleading advertisements. In turn, companies may settle, give a payout, remove the commercial, be banned from specific types of advertisements, or continue on due to their connections. With the internet, even though nothing can be erased, it eventually fades to the background as newer developments come to light. Companies do experience setbacks from it but if they are large enough, they are able to still maintain their status and reputation with time.

[moral-marketing]

The Future is in Ethical Marketing

Companies have benefited from immoral marketing for hundreds of years, so why should companies care about ethics? There are negative consequences to customer opinion when using unethical and misleading advertising.

“Trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets, so the risk of not paying attention is real. 63% have stopped purchasing from a brand because they lost trust and 69% of them would never purchase from the brand again.” [2]

Moreso, gone are the times when a brand can simply wait for a scandal to be forgotten in the general public’s eye. Word of a company’s actions are more easily seen and remembered with social media.

The future is in transparent marketing partly because of the connection the internet provides us. “Cancel culture” spreads fast online. Customers want and reward ethical advertising and tell the world about their bad experiences now that the average person has a platform.

[moral-marketing]

CONCLUSION

In today’s society, marketing tactics have displayed numerous persuasive techniques that are deceitful and immoral yet truthful, ethical, and transparent advertising in the current era is beneficial and profitable. Most advertisements seen in media, on billboards, or shown on posters exhibit some sort of persuasive tactic in order to get consumers to view their product.

In many cases, these advertisements run false with only a thread of truth to them or they use specific language so that they can not really be determined as false advertising. In these cases, they are deceiving the public in order to make their product seem more desirable and in order to make more sales.

While this is a good way to grow a company and gain a consumer following, in the current era, much of the population values truthful advertisements. With truthful and honest advertising, it will garner a much more loyal customer base and reduce the possibility of a company facing “cancel culture” due to the lack of transparency and deceptive practices.

Overall, due to the nature and interconnectedness of today’s population, it is important to implement a transparent marketing strategy that is authentic, reliable, genuine, and trustworthy in order to showcase their integrity as a brand.

[moral-marketing]

Trust is Vital

The impact trust has on our purchasing decisions is impossible to ignore. [14]

[moral-marketing]

Works Cited

[1] “2020 Edelman Trust Barometer.” Edelman, Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc., 19 Jan. 2020, edelman.com/trust/2020-trust-barometer  

[2] DePalma, MJ. “Build Trust: Ethical Advertising Principles.” Microsoft Advertising, 22 Jan. 2021, about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/post/january-2021/9-steps-to-build-trust-ethical-advertising-principles 

[3] “The Origins of Marketing and Advertising.” Anchordigital, 19 July 2019, anchordigital.com.au/the-origins-of-marketing-and-advertising/  

[4] “Advertising.” National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/collections/subjects/advertising Accessed 5 Dec. 2022

[5] Roberts, Donna L., and Donna L. Roberts. The Lures of Advertising – How Susceptible Are You? 2 Mar. 2016, mediapsychology101.com/2016/02/22/the-lures-of-advertising-how-susceptible-are-you/  Accessed 5 Dec. 2022. 

[6] “Pathos, Logos, and Ethos.” STLCC, stlcc.edu/student-support/academic-success-and-tutoring/writing-center/writing-resources/pathos-logos-and-ethos.aspx  Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[7] Sen, Ranaq. “How Marketing Created a Billion Dollar Brand: The Sensodyne Case Study.” Medium, Medium, 12 Sept. 2017, medium.com/@ranaq/how-marketing-created-a-billion-dollar-brand-the-sensodyne-case-study-3394d45f1fc2. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[8] ragefc. “Sarah McLachlan Animal Cruelty Video.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Oct. 2006, youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc&ab_channel=ragefc. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[9] Kovach, Steve. “Here's the Anti-Iphone 5 AD Samsung Will Run in Newspapers.” Business Insider, Business Insider, businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-anti-iphone-5-ad-2012-9. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[10] Kurichenko, Victoria. “How Pepsi Spooked Coca-Cola with This Hilarious Halloween AD.” Medium, Better Marketing, 3 Aug. 2022, bettermarketing.pub/how-pepsi-spooked-coca-cola-with-this-hilarious-halloween-ad-ac471c9450bc. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[11] Hudson, Jr., David L. Central Hudson Test, mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1536/central-hudson-test#:~:text=By%20David%20L.,Hudson%20Jr.&text=The%20Central%20Hudson%20test%20was,reduce%20consumer%20demand%20and%20consumption. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[12] Staff, the Premerger Notification Office, and DPIP and CTO Staff. “Truth in Advertising.” Federal Trade Commission, 16 July 2021, www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[13] Rath, Julien. “18 False Advertising Scandals That Cost Some Brands Millions.” Business Insider, Business Insider, businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2017-2#vw-falsely-advertised-environmentally-friendly-diesel-cars-4. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[14] “Accelerating Brand Performance Through Trust, Love and Loyalty.” Microsoft Advertising. advertiseonbing-blob.azureedge.net/blob/bingads/media/insight/whitepapers/2020/05-may/trust-love-and-loyalty/msa_whitepaper_marketingwpurpose-trust.pdf