Lecture Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective (10/e): Chapter 21 - George E. Belch, Michael A. Belch

Chapter 21
Evaluating the 
Social, Ethical,
and Economic 
Aspects of 
Advertising and 
Promotion

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.


Advertising
Proponents’ arguments
•
•
•
•
•

Provides information to consumers
Encourages higher standard of living
Promotes competition
Helps new firms enter a market
Creates jobs

Critics’ arguments
• More propaganda than information
• Creates consumer needs and faults
• Promotes materialism, insecurity, and greed
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent

of McGraw-Hill Education.

2


Advertising and Promotion Ethics
 Ethics: Moral principles and values that govern the 
actions and decisions of an individual or group
 Marketing or promotion action may be legal but not 
ethical
 Marketers must base their decisions on ethical 
considerations

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

3


Advertising as Untruthful or Deceptive
 Consumers rely on word of mouth 
 Difficult to prove deception 
 Projects only positive points 
 Exists more at the local level

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

4

Advertising as Offensive or in Bad Taste
 Sources of distaste
 Ads of personal products or services 
 Ads of products and brands that consumers do not use or would not buy
 Type of appeal or the manner of presentation

 Sexual appeal in ads
 Offensive and tends to demean women or men
 Promotes a decline of moral and social values

 Shock advertising: Using nudity, sexual suggestiveness, or 
other startling images to get consumers’ attention

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

5


Advertising and Children
 Popular medium ­ TV and the Internet
 Critics argue that children:
 Lack the knowledge and skills to evaluate advertising 
claims
 Cannot differentiate between programs and commercials

 Marketers’ arguments 
 Children must deal with advertising
 Consumer socialization process: Acquiring skills needed to 

function in the marketplace
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

6


Advertising and Children
 Existing restrictions are adequate
 Greater knowledge of the marketplace required for teens

 Areas of potential concern
 Cable television programming
 Internet ads
 Increase in ads encouraging children to call 900 
numbers
 Increase in toy­based programs
 Marketing of violent entertainment
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

7


Guidelines for Advertising Directed to 
Children
 Level of knowledge, sophistication, and maturity of 
the audience should be taken into account
 Should refrain from unfair exploitation of the 
imaginative quality of children

 Should not advertise products and content 
inappropriate for children directly to them

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

8


Guidelines for Advertising Directed to 
Children
 Information should be communicated in an 
accurate manner and in a language understandable 
to children
 Advertisements should portray positive and 
beneficial social behavior
 Minority groups should be incorporated in 
advertisements

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

9


Social and Cultural Consequences
 Advertising influences and transmits social values
 Advertising agencies should consider the impact of 
the advertising messages they create

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

10


Advertising Encourages Materialism
 Materialism: Preoccupation with material things 
rather than intellectual or spiritual concerns
 Advertisements that contribute to materialism:
 Seek to create needs
 Surround consumers with images of the good life 
 Suggest it leads to contentment and happiness

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

11


Arguments Favoring Materialism
 Protestant ethic: Stresses on hard work, individual 
effort, and initiative
 Views the accumulation of material possessions as 
evidence of success

 Does not rule out interest in  intellectual, spiritual, 
or cultural values
 Advertisements only reflect the values of society

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

12


Advertising Makes People Buy Things 
They Don’t Need
 Critics’ argument ­ Advertising should only 
provide information useful in making purchase 
decisions
 Defenders’ argument 
 Advertising is informational in nature
 Advertising should not be limited to dealing with 
basic functional needs
 Consumers are free to choose 
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

13


Advertising and Stereotyping
 Gender stereotyping 
 Portrayal of women
 Preoccupied with beauty, household duties, and 
motherhood 
 Decorative objects or sexually provocative figures

 Portrayal of men

 Constructive, powerful, autonomous, and achieving

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

14


Advertising and Stereotyping
 Advertisers are striving to: 
 Increase the incidence of minority groups 
 Avoid ethnic stereotyping 
 Develop advertising that has specific appeals to 
various ethnic groups
 Be sensitive to the portrayal of specific groups of 
people in their ads for ethical and commercial 
reasons
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

15


Advertising and the Media
 Ads are the primary source of revenue for 
newspapers, magazines, television, and radio 
 Advertisers have an influence over media 
 Economic censorship ­ Media present biased news 
coverage in compliance with the advertiser

 Reasons for media not being influenced by 
advertisers
 Public confidence should be retained by being fair, accurate, and truthful
 Advertisers need the media more than the media need any one advertiser
 The Wall 
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

16


Economic Effects of Advertising
 Effects on consumer choice ­ Helps achieve:
 Differentiation: Products or services of large advertisers are perceived as 
unique or better than competitors’
 Brand loyalty

 Effects on competition ­ Large firms with huge budgets:
 Act as a barrier to entry, resulting in less competition and higher prices
 Can achieve economies of scale

 Effects on product costs and prices
 Increases the cost of products and services
 Increases product differentiation that adds to the perceived value of the 
product in consumers’ minds
 Lowers prices by making a market more competitive
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

17

Figure 21.6 ­ Two Schools of Thought 
on Advertising’s Role in the Economy

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.

18