Lizzury Rodriguez
September 11th, 2008
RCS-362-01
883875655
September 11th, 2008
RCS-362-01
883875655
* ETHICS IN ADVERTISING *
Nowadays, with the globalized world which we are facing, competition among companies has been increasing. Somehow they need to be able to find out the way to increase their sales as well. Unfortunately, the psychology that is being used in commercials and advertising campaigns, is causing harmful effects as a result.
The business of advertising is about creating insecure people who believe they need to buy things to be happy. Lately, one of the cases that most caught the attention of people is about prescription drugs. Commercials in this field are trying to convince people to buy pills or drugs they don’t really need, and consumers are buying the idea of the attractive benefits the pills may have on them, ignoring the drug's adverse reactions. It is happening because companies are not being truthful and tending to be manipulative with consumer thinking. Is that an ethical thing to do?....Obviously my answer must be no!!....but I really think that it is part of the consumerist culture in which we are immersed.
On the other hand, is the case of marketing to children. Advertising companies have realized that if they want to increase profits, children must be used. It means that they have to find the way to manipulate children’s heads and how to reach children more effectively. Kids represent an important issue to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, they are able to influence the buying decisions of their parents and they are the adult consumers of the future.
Children love toys dealing with violence, such as action figures armed with weapons, and products that might show how powerful they could be. The power can be acquired for them mostly with cash, we can see this trend everywhere.
Children are being persuaded with the idea that they need to make money when they grew up and at the same time, are being used to get familiar with the necessity of credit cards and the possession of material things. Again, I think that this is not an ethical thing to do, because they are making their parents spend lots of money and at the same time are growing up with a selfish mentality.
Unfortunately, psychology is just a tool for companies, like anything else, but they are exploiting children for commercial purposes. I can think of Mc Donald´s as a clear example of poorly targeted marketing. Mc Donald´s happy meal is a way to keep the kids hooked when they display the toys that will come next and the children want to get the same, but the worst comes when kids are increasingly being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, in the schools, etc.
The business of advertising is about creating insecure people who believe they need to buy things to be happy. Lately, one of the cases that most caught the attention of people is about prescription drugs. Commercials in this field are trying to convince people to buy pills or drugs they don’t really need, and consumers are buying the idea of the attractive benefits the pills may have on them, ignoring the drug's adverse reactions. It is happening because companies are not being truthful and tending to be manipulative with consumer thinking. Is that an ethical thing to do?....Obviously my answer must be no!!....but I really think that it is part of the consumerist culture in which we are immersed.
On the other hand, is the case of marketing to children. Advertising companies have realized that if they want to increase profits, children must be used. It means that they have to find the way to manipulate children’s heads and how to reach children more effectively. Kids represent an important issue to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, they are able to influence the buying decisions of their parents and they are the adult consumers of the future.
Children love toys dealing with violence, such as action figures armed with weapons, and products that might show how powerful they could be. The power can be acquired for them mostly with cash, we can see this trend everywhere.
Children are being persuaded with the idea that they need to make money when they grew up and at the same time, are being used to get familiar with the necessity of credit cards and the possession of material things. Again, I think that this is not an ethical thing to do, because they are making their parents spend lots of money and at the same time are growing up with a selfish mentality.
Unfortunately, psychology is just a tool for companies, like anything else, but they are exploiting children for commercial purposes. I can think of Mc Donald´s as a clear example of poorly targeted marketing. Mc Donald´s happy meal is a way to keep the kids hooked when they display the toys that will come next and the children want to get the same, but the worst comes when kids are increasingly being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, in the schools, etc.
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