University of Botswana
Department of Media Studies
BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
HANDOUT 24:
ADVERTISING
Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas.
Often it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer.
Advertising is a service to the public and, as such, should be legal, decent, honest and truthful, and be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the consumer.
Decent: Advertisers must consider public sensitivities.
Honest: Advertisers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
Truthful: No advertisement should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity or exaggeration.
Advertising must inspire public confidence; if bad advertising - dishonest, misleading or offensive - is allowed to go on unchecked, even though it may account for only a small percentage of the whole, it will gradually undermine consumers' confidence and all advertising will suffer.
Advertising plays an important role in socialisation. Apart from influencing what the public consumes, advertising also influences the public’s opinion and world view.
Advertisements portray and interpret society’s definition of roles for men and women: From the earliest years of children, advertisements shape the way of their lives, and what to consume. Many commercials showing boys playing with cars and girls playing with dolls create different tastes and preferences for each sex.
Most advertising seeks to reinforce what is socially accepted behaviour and roles for the two sexes, thus defining what is feminine and masculine. For example men are more likely to be portrayed as figures of authority in business settings while women are confined indoors especially in the kitchen and when they appear in the business world they are restricted to ‘less challenging’ roles like beauty and fashion industries.
Most advertisers make use of mass media to reach their target audiences and therefore advertisements easily find their way to the public. Many people aspire to live like the people or use the products and services that they see in adverts. Advertising creates tastes, some of which are alien to a people’s way of life.
Ethical codes of practice (self-regulation) have two main purposes: (i) to protect the consumer; (ii) to ensure professionalism among advertisers.
Codes lay down criteria for professional conduct and at the same time inform the public of the self-imposed limitations accepted by those using or working in advertising. Codes form the basis for arbitration where there is a conflict within the industry, or between advertisers and the general public.
The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa.
No advertisement may contain anything that might reasonably be thought to encourage or condone cruelty or irresponsible behaviour towards animals.
Children and Young People
Advertisements addressed to or likely to influence children should not contain anything which may cause them harm mentally, morally, physically or emotionally.
Advertisements should not exploit children’s natural trust, lack of experience or their sense of loyalty.
Advertisements should not portray children in a sexually provocative or suggestive manner.
Discrimination
Advertisements should not contain anything that is discriminatory, unless, in the opinion of the Advertising Standards Authority such discrimination is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.
Educational courses
Advertisements for educational courses should not mislead as to the status or extent of recognition of the qualification that can be obtained.
Fear
Advertisements should not use fear tactics without justifiable reason.
Financial Advertising
Advertisements for financial products or services should take special care to ensure that the public are fully aware of the nature of any commitment they may enter into as a result of responding to the advertisement. Advertisers should take note of the complexities of finance, especially when advertising to consumers, and should not take advantage of the lack of experience, knowledge or trust of consumers.
“Free” offers
Advertisements should not describe products as “free” if there is any cost payable by a consumer except for delivery or postage costs.
If there are any costs relating to delivery and postage it must be stated clearly in the advertisement.
Furniture advertising
Advertisements for furniture which show additional items, but which are not included in the price, shall clearly state that the additional items are excluded.
Guarantee
If a guarantee is offered in an advertisement, the full terms and conditions of that guarantee should be available in printed form, for the consumer to inspect.
Honesty
Advertisements should be honest and not abuse consumer’s trust or lack of knowledge.
Training courses
Advertisements for instructional courses should not contain misleading promises of employment or exaggerate the opportunity of employment or future income to those who are interested in taking such courses.
Illegal activities
Advertisements should not show anything, which may encourage or support criminal or illegal activity.
Misleading claims
Advertisements should not contain any statements or visual presentations, which directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggeration is likely to mislead consumers.
Miracle healing (faith healing)
Advertisements should not make claims or inferences of medical or miracle healing.
Money-back undertaking
The claim “money-back” in the advertisement should only be used if a full refund of the purchase price is offered to dissatisfied consumers. Where such an undertaking is given, the time within which the offer is valid should be clearly indicated in the advertisement.
Non-availability of advertised products
Advertisements should not be published unless the advertiser has reasonable grounds for believing that any demand that is likely to be created by advertising can be met.
Offensive advertising
Advertisements should not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread or sectoral offence.The fact that a particular product, service or advertisement may be offensive to some is not in itself sufficient ground for upholding an objection to an advertisement for that product or service.In considering whether an advertisement is offensive, the context, medium, likely audience, nature of the product or service, prevailing standards, degree of social concern and public interest will among others be taken into account.
Privacy
Advertisements should not portray or refer to any living person(s) by whatever means unless their permission has been obtained. This excludes among others:
Individuals that are shown in a crowd or background provided that the portrayal is not offensive.
Portrayal of individuals who form part of the subject matter on advertisements for books, films, radio or television programmes, press features etc.
Safety
Advertisements should not without justifiable reason, show any dangerous practices or situations.
Self-employment opportunities
Advertisements for self-employment opportunities may not be phrased in a manner which is likely to lead to the opportunity being confused with part-time or normal employment.
Such advertisements may not require any money to be sent before full information about the self-employment opportunity is supplied to the consumer.
Selling without express consent from consumers
Advertisers may not supply advertised goods or services to consumers without consumers’ express authority.
Substantiation of claims
Advertisers should have available acceptable proof of all factual claims made in advertising.
Violence
Advertisements should not show anything, which may encourage or support acts of violence.
Legal, decent, honest, truthful,by Charlotte Macpherson,June 2007(http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/columnists-114038-legal-decent-honest-truthful.html) |
Should advertisers be allowed to put any image they like on a billboard, or are there limits to public decency? This has been a recent debate in Turkey, with arguments about adverts for bikinis and swimsuits at Atatürk airport. Feminists in Europe have for years campaigned against the use of the female body to sell goods.
For example, they argue, why do you need girls in bikinis sitting on the hood of a sports car at a motor show to make people think it is a good car?
So I didn’t really think about writing about the Turkish advert argument until this week when I saw an advertisement for Coppertone sun tan lotion in many national newspapers. It is an image I remember from my youth: a pretty young girl, aged about 3 or 4, with her blond hair in bunches. She has a great suntan, made all the more obvious because you see her “white patch” when her pet dog playfully pulls at the seat of her swimming pants.
It is a cute scene, which obviously in Turkey is viewed as innocent. But you will not see the same advert in the UK any more. Coppertone withdrew the design about two decades ago, following complaints that it could provoke attacks on young children by men with pedophiliac tendencies.
Seeing again an image that caused a lot of debate abroad made me realize that public sensitivities, or the definition of what is normal decent behavior and what is shocking, changes from culture to culture.
It also varies within one culture. For example the swimwear argument arose because some in Turkey think the ads were beautiful and acceptable, others find them offensive and inappropriate.
In Turkey it seems it is the local authority that is the arbiter of public decency, and what is acceptable in an ad or not.
I did a bit of research on the Coppertone ad in the UK. Was it banned by a local authority, or a national government body? No, in the UK the advertising industry regulates itself.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body set up by the advertising industry to police the rules laid down in the advertising codes. The strength of the self-regulatory system lies in both the independence of the ASA and the support and commitment of the advertising industry to the standards of the codes, protecting consumers and creating a level playing field for advertisers.
Following complaints to the ASA, Coppertone pulled its advert, as they realized that an ad that causes concern or is offensive to part of the target audience is not a good ad. If instead of attracting your potential customers it puts them off, it is not just a waste of money, it may do damage to your brand and cause existing customers to switch away from your product.
Basically the rules outlaw misleading advertising and offensive advertising. Advertisements are not allowed to mislead consumers. This means that advertisers must hold evidence to prove the claims they make about their products or services before an ad appears. Ads are not allowed to cause serious or widespread offense. Special care needs to be taken on the grounds of sex, race, religion, sexuality and disability.
FURTHER READING:
Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa
Advertising Self-Regulation – the essentials, European Advertising Standards Alliance, 2003.
Colleen Lowe Morna and Sikhonzile, Gender and Advertising in Southern Africa.
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