Ethics in Advertising and Influence
How and why things work has always been of interest to me. Whether it was from the subject of math and science or art and history, I am fascinated as to why the world behaves in the way in which it does and how we fit into it. Due to that allure, I have developed a passion for analyzing how we are affected by different phenomena around us and how we are persuaded by things like the media. This inspired me to pursue my degree and career in Communications— more specifically marketing and advertising.
Ethics is essential to Communications because it is the value system in which we relay information. Communication Ethics is the intricacies of how we use language, media, and journalism. One’s morals and values impact how communication may create and develop relationships or consider consequences of possible behavior and repercussion. Ethics is quintessential to the mechanics of any interpersonal, external, and media relations, therefore it is important to understand how it works.
Not only in my daily life, but in my developing career, I interact with ethics in communication when considering the interplay between truth and falsehood. Marketing and advertising is about accommodating your message to your audience. This can concern ethical dilemmas when we consider the compromise of appeal and authenticity. As producers, we want a good product, with a good brand, that is transparent and takes accountability, but most importantly we want to sell our product. In order to make more sales and appease a larger audience one may have to compromise truth. Compromising truth does not mean completely lying, but it does withhold inconvenience or disappointment that may influence consumers to not buy our product. Though I am not a fan of staying on this middle line, it is almost necessary with our current market. There is more access to a greater variety, by exposing too many truths about a company or product it is subjecting them to the possibility of more scrutiny.
Truth interplays with falsehood in advertising and marketing through the balance between maintaining an ethical presence and sustaining a competitive brand. Truths that one would want to assure is a good product. If you want to advertise honestly, then the product or service needs to be an honest and good product that lives up to the name and brand you would like to create. Not only will this make the advertising reliable, but it will develop a good brand. This is a truth that can be developed through satisfactory results. Brands that have consistency in products known for being good will be identified as good brands for that product. However, having a good brand may extend beyond a good product and will transgress the ethics that the brand supports. Thus, virtues like transparency and accountability are essential to retaining ethical standings with your consumers. Most people do not want to buy from unethical and greedy companies, nor be associated with those traits. Therefore, companies need to develop a trusting relationship with the community. This can be done through Public Relations— another sector in Communications. Public Relations can help maintain a company’s image and even prevent scandal. Although these all present as good truths in marketing and advertising, these can be the same standards that lead to falsehood. Through the pressure to maintain a good product, a good brand, and be competitive, companies may adopt unethical practices to present as such. This may include using cheap labor, exaggerating about a product, or hiding scandalous events that occur within the company. It appears that truth and falsehood interplay as a balancing act to guide company relations with their consumers.
It is this relationship with consumers that intrigues me. In order to build lasting relationships with people one has to understand how and why they operate— what inspires them. One needs to be aware of their wants and needs. I believe that the more you understand humanity, from the biological process that makes us up to the sociological interaction we have, the better one can influence it. That is why communication is so interesting to me and why I would like to pursue Marketing and Advertising; I want to create and control media that evaluates consumers and adapts. Though, I can not ignore the power one can hold in such a position. With the right amount of understanding, the right amount of rhetoric, and the right amount of influence, anyone can be a threat to humanity. This is where communication ethics become most important to me. Communication ethics can be used to surveil and humble the influence that we have on others. It is a skill to dissect our intentions while supporting our relationships with one another. In my opinion, that skill is essential to sustaining our humanity.
