Advertising is used to promote goods, services, images, and anything else that advertisers want to publicize. It is becoming a major part of mass media. At times we may view it positively, at other times we may just neglect or ignore it. In order to attract audiences, advertisers use various techniques on their advertisements to make people aware of the firm 's products, services or brands. Although the methods used by advertisers are infinitely, they have a common goal to persuade those who may become their customers to buy their products. An excellent advertisement will create a deep impression on its potential customers through particular techniques.
The hallmark of an excellent advertisement is an ethical one. What is defined as an ethical advertisement? An ethical problem in the contemporary business environment is deceptive advertising, which can mislead consumers and injure competitors. Though illegal in its most blatant forms, deceptive advertising can occur in subtle ways that are difficult to establish as outright deception, such as puffery, incomplete comparisons and implied superiority claims. While the problem is widely recognized, research about what makes consumers susceptible to deceptive advertising and how to prevent their being deceived by misleading messages is rare. So I think self-regulation is the only way to reduce the presence of deceptive products and services being advertisements.
Deceptive advertising and marketing practices have been around since the beginning of time and are still prevalent today. Sometimes it is done unknowingly by an advertiser, however, more often than not, it is done with the intent to mislead the consumer, making deceptive advertising a relevant marketing ethics issue. This paper will first define deceptive advertising and marketing, and describe different types of deception. Next, it will examine what makes an advertisement or marketing practice deceptive. A look into the deceptive
References: 1. Lord, K.R. and C.K. Kim. "Inoculating Consumers Against Deception: The Influence of Framing and Executional Style." Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 18, 1995, pp. 1-23. 2. Lord, K.R., R.E. Burnkrant and R.S. Owen. "An Experimental Comparison of Self-Report and Response-Time Measures of Consumer Information Processing." In Bloom, P., R. Winer, H. Kassarjian, D. Scammon, B. Weitz, R. Spekman, V. Mahajan and M. Levy, eds. Enhancing Knowledge Development in Marketing, American Marketing Association, AMA Educators ' Proceedings, Chicago Illionis, pp. 196-200. 3. Vaughn, R. "How Advertising Works: A Planning Model." Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 20, 1980, pp. 27-33. 4. Putrevu, S. and K.R. Lord. "Comparative and Noncomparative Advertising: Attitudinal Effects Under Cognitive and Affective Involvement Conditions." Journal of Advertising, Vol. 23, 1994, pp. 77-90. 5.American Marketing Association [online]. Available: www.ama.org Assael, Henry. (1998). Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action. 6th Edition, Southwestern College Publishing: Cincinnati, Ohio. Azcuenaga, Mary L. (1994). Advertising: Interpretation and Enforcement Policy. Presented at the American Advertising Federation, National Government Affairs Conference, Washington, DC. Better Business Bureau [on-line]. Available: www.bbb.org Federal Trade Commission [on-line]. Available: www.ftc.gov