ETHICS in Marketing and Advertising
by Holly Embry
Ethics: the philosophy based on well-founded standards of right and wrong (a system of moral principles) that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues, and how they should act in daily life.
Ethics is not just an important part of daily life, but also of conduct in business, sports, art, medicine, and all areas of life. This includes marketing and advertising.
The Institute for Advertising Ethics has a list of Principles and Practices that provides solid guidelines for this.
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES
1. Truthful and Non-Misleading Communications: Advertising, public relations, and other marketing communications professionals should ensure that their advertising is truthful and not misleading, and should not omit, conceal, or obscure material information in ways that manipulate audiences and impair the audience’s ability to make informed choices.
2. Substantiation: Advertising claims, whether expressed or implied, must be supported by reasonable proof before they are disseminated in order to ensure that consumers are not misled by unproven or exaggerated assertions.
3. Fairness: Advertising professionals should treat consumers fairly and should not engage in dark patterns or any other practice that unfairly manipulates consumers or undermines trust. Understanding that children, the elderly, and other vulnerable audiences may be more susceptible to being deceived or unfairly manipulated, advertising practices should be designed with the intended audience in mind and with the reasonably foreseeable potential harms that could result. The duty of care rises in proportion to the potential for harm.
4. Social Responsibility: Advertising should be prepared and disseminated with a due sense of responsibility to society, taking into account its reasonably foreseeable effects on consumers, markets, and the public. It should respect human dignity and should not degrade, demean, or exploit individuals or groups, and should be practiced in ways that support a legitimate, competitive, and well-functioning marketplace and reasonably foreseeable positive outcomes for consumers and society.
5. Disclosure: Where the disclosure of additional material terms is necessary in order to prevent a claim from being misleading, those terms should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously in a manner that allows them to be easily seen, read, and understood by the consumers to whom the advertising is directed.
6. Transparency: Consumers have a right to know when content is advertising. Advertising and other sponsored content, including communications by influencers and other endorsers, should be clearly identifiable as advertising, including where content is generated, personalized, amplified, or materially shaped by automated or algorithmic systems. Such content should not be created or designed to manipulate or obscure the intent of the communication.
7. Privacy: Advertisers should design their advertising and data collection practices with a “privacy by design” mindset, keeping the consumer in mind and ensuring that the privacy and security of consumer data are maintained. Advertisers should collect data only for legitimate and lawful purposes, limit the collection of sensitive data to when absolutely necessary, and retain data only for as long as reasonably necessary. Advertisers should also provide appropriate choices to consumers regarding whether, how, and to what extent their information is collected, used, or shared, and should ensure that those choices are transparent, simple, and respected and disclosed in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Advertisers should recognize that consumer consent alone does not eliminate ethical responsibility where data practices create reasonably foreseeable risks of misuse, inference, or unintended harm.
8. Internal Processes: Advertisers, advertising agencies, and other companies that are part of the advertising ecosystem should maintain processes to review communications and practices for ethical risks and to resolve the concerns before they reach the public. They should ensure that when ethical concerns are raised, they are treated seriously and with respect, and that they may be raised without retaliation. Organizations should further ensure that such concerns are addressed in a timely and accountable manner, proportionate to the significance of the risk identified.
9. Commercial Relationships: Advertisers, advertising agencies, and other companies that are part of the advertising ecosystem must deal with each other honestly and transparently, ensuring commercial relationships are free of undisclosed conflicts to preserve trust in advertising.
10. Lawfulness: Advertisers must ensure that their advertising complies with applicable laws and regulations, recognizing that legal compliance is a minimum standard and that ethical practice requires conduct that sustains integrity and public trust.
11. Accountable Self-Regulation: Where credible, independent, and accountable advertising self-regulatory mechanisms exist, advertisers should participate in good faith to address concerns, correct errors, and promote responsible practices, recognizing that such participation helps sustain public trust and the effective functioning of the advertising marketplace. Where such mechanisms are absent, insufficient, or not reasonably accessible, advertisers should support their development or improvement, recognizing that accountable self-regulation strengthens public trust and the long-term functioning of the advertising marketplace.
Ethics beyond the design team
Marketers must uphold several things within a client relationship:
Understand both the risks of losing trust and benefits of earning it
Monitor how consumers’ expectations and values are changing
Identify ethical risks in marketing, and cultivate a deep understanding of laws, regulations, and considerations unique to their industries and markets
Use shared values as decision-making tools
Effectively communicate about ethical risks to stakeholders both in and outside marketing
“The placard in the boardroom says Chief Marketing Officer, but the T-shirt needs to say Chief Trust Officer.”
– Bennie F. Johnson, CEO of the American Marketing Association
Advocating for ethical actions is not the responsibility of marketing alone. Marketing leaders must collaborate with legal, HR, and IT teams to design, implement, and maintain policies and practices that uphold ethical standards. Often, marketing teams are the recipients of decisions made by legal or ethics officers—but they must be proactive in leveraging shared values with customers in a way that provides a competitive advantage, and in identifying potential ethical red flags that could harm the brands’ reputation.
What is the most fundamental ethical issue in advertising?
The main ethical problem in advertising is Dishonesty. Providing accurate information about a product or service is crucial as it helps consumers make informed choices based on facts rather than sensationalism. Misleading claims, false advertising, and deceptive tactics all harm consumer trust and can have long-lasting negative consequences for a brand.
If you’re still looking for more details, here is another set of principles for ethics and accountability in marketing provided by the Association of National Advertisers.
An ethical and accountable marketer:
Commits to achieving customer satisfaction through good stewardship of the environment and its community. By integrating these practices, it creates value for itself, its stakeholders, and society.
Does not tolerate unfair bias (intentional or unconscious), stereotypes, or denigrating content, and instead supports accurate portrayals and representations.
Supports all potential customers by using techniques and strategies that are both inclusive and accessible to people with wide-ranging abilities along the entire customer journey.
Considers the age range, knowledge, sophistication, maturity, and stages of development of their intended audience.
Uses technology in a responsible manner to advance marketing and to improve the consumer experience.
Clearly, honestly, and accurately represents their products, services, terms, and conditions, and engages in practices that are transparent to their desired audience.
Delivers their products, services, and experiences as represented.
Communicates in a respectful and courteous manner.
Responds to inquiries and complaints in a respectful, timely way.
Takes steps to help prevent misleading or deceptive marketing and fraud from occurring on their platform or in their name.
Maintains heightened security policies and practices to safeguard data.
Provides information on their policies about the use and/or transfer of personal information for marketing in a clear manner and easy for consumers to access.
Honors requests not to have personal information transferred for marketing.
Honors consumer requests not to receive future solicitations.
Follows the spirit and letter of the law as well as this Ethics Code.
Your client wants to work with someone who will not only listen to them and cooperate but will also offer honesty and guidance to produce the best outcome.
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