ETHICAL AND UNETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKETING

    ETHICAL AND UNETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKETING

                               ETHICS IN MARKETING

Ethics are a code of values and principles that govern the actions of a person regarding what is right versus what is wrong. They determine our behavior when we are faced with a moral dilemma and are subjective, in which they vary from person to person depending on their point of view. Because they’re subjective, ethical standards differ internationally. Ethical practices, as well as unethical practices, can have an effect on marketing, and in some instances, unethical behavior can lead to government intervention. Also, our ethical choices and moral philosophy are relative to marketing practices.

Ethics are a collection of principles of right conduct that shape the decisions people or organizations make. Practicing ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs, to marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in the organization.

In a market economy, a business may be expected to act in what it believes to be its own best interest. The purpose of marketing is to create a competitive advantage. An organization achieves an advantage when it does a better job than its competitors at satisfying the product and service requirements of its target markets. Those organizations that develop a competitive advantage are able to satisfy the needs of both customers and the organization.

PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL MARKETING :

1. All marketing communications share the common standard of truth. 
2.    Marketing professionals abide by the highest standard of personal ethics.
3. Advertising is clearly distinguished from news and entertainment content.
4. Marketers should be transparent about who they pay to endorse their products.

        ETHICAL ISSUES AND THEIR IMPACT ON MARKETING:

Advertisements are a great way to spread knowledge about a product or service, but sometimes the messages in advertisements are questionable. Vintage advertisements from the 1950s and 1960s, for example, were created in an era with far less oversight. Today, many of these ads are more offensive and unethical than persuasive. If you look at an ad for Camels cigarettes from the 1950s, you’ll see a doctor smiling while holding a cigarette, and the caption, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette”. This ad demonstrates hypocrisy, since doctors spend their careers advocating for healthy lifestyles. It also sends a message to society that if doctors are smoking, then it must not be all that bad.

                                                       In marketing, the strategy of promotion is used to gain the interest of consumers and to persuade them to try a product or service, but too often, the objectification of women is implemented in this strategy. Carl’s Jr. is well known for doing so. Since 2000, the majority of their advertisements include models eating hamburgers and wearing revealing clothing. Carl’s Jr. defends their actions by saying “We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers.” Because of their unethical choice to objectify women, many women believe they are not the target audience, but that males age 18 – 35 are.

THERE ARE LOTS OF EXAMPLE OF UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN MARKETING ARE DUE TO WHICH UNETHICAL ADVERTISEMENT GET BANNED.BUT STILL MNC'S NOT GOING TO STOP SUCH UNETHICAL PRACTICES DUE TO WHICH THEY ARE LOOSING THEIR GOODWILL IN MARKET.