Drug Advertising
Ethics in Drug Advertising

The marketing through direct-to-consumer drug advertising is a controversial topic. The basis of the ethical reasoning related to this manner is what role the patient should have in their treatments. If patients have the ability to diagnose their own afflictions then such advertisements might offer practical insights to the range of treatments that are available to the patient. However, most individuals would be much better off following the advice of a medical professional than to be convinced by a promotional message that they might be suited for some form of pharmaceutical treatment. Yet drug advertising clearly works as the numbers of patients and prescription drug users dramatically increase with each marketing campaign. This analysis will consider the ethics involved with direct-to-consumer marketing from a few different angles.

Discussion

Most of the discussion about ethics and the social responsibility of marketers has been descriptive and focus on the way…...

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Works Cited

Goertzel, T. (N.d.). An Introduction to Ethical Analysis. Retrieved from Rutgers:  http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/ethicalanalysis.html 

Robin, D., & Reidenbach, E. (1987). Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy. Journal of Marketing, 44-58.

Wodak, A. (2007). Ethics and drug policy. Retrieved from Hanskoechler:  http://hanskoechler.com/Wodak-Ethics_Drug_Policy.pdf

power of a successful ad stems from the population it addresses rather than its words. To put it simply, ads must incorporate its potential customers' hopes, fears, wishes, and dreams, and position the product they are advertising as the key to them. 'Mass desires' is the term typically utilized for denoting such already existing feelings. They merely represent a common private want. Secretly, a large number of individuals desire the very same things - health, wealth, attractiveness, and happiness. An ad will be effective if its creators understand the way a given product will be able to fulfil these private desires (Lee, 2014).
Some advertisers, in a perpetual bid to draw customers and link their products to hedonistic, lavish or "cool" lifestyles, have repeatedly gone past the bounds of what may be regarded as socially and ethically acceptable advertising. An understanding of one's market can aid sellers in designing and…...

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References

Ethical Marketing (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from  http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/ethical-marketing.html 

Galinsky, A. (2008). 'Powerless' Consumers Spend More. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from  http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/powerless-consumers-spend/131112/ 

Lee, A. (2014). How to Attract Customers with Ads That Tap into Desire [3 Step Guide]. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.marketingthatsells.net/blog/how-to-attract-customers-with-ads-that-tap-into-desire

The Economic, Social, and Regulatory Aspects of Advertising (n.d.) Retrieved 25 January 2016 from  http://www.aef.com/pdf/arens_ch03.pdf

However, there are often no rules, or weak ones, and that can create an ethical dilemma on the part of marketers. They must decide for themselves what lines they want to cross, and set their own codes of ethics. here rules only provide guidelines, these can be open to interpretation. As we have seen with the area of marketing to children, however, the marketing industry has kept ahead of the regulators in how they approach the issue. The government has barely been able to ban Joe Camel, and has no answer for companies that reach children with child-oriented web content that blends.

Developing Rules

In order to create a code of ethics where there are no laws to provide guidance, there are bodies that have taken the lead. A company should begin, for example, with a statement of ethical norms from the American Marketing Association (2012). There are three ethical norms that…...

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Works Cited:

Akaah, I. & Riordan, E. (1989). Judgments of marketing professionals about ethical issues in marketing research: A replication and extension. Journal of Marketing Research. Vol. 26 (1) 112-120

Shrubsole, G. (2012). Marketing and advertising that respects children's rights. The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from  http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/marketing-advertising-respect-childrens-rights 

Horovitz, B. (2011). Marketing to kids gets more savvy with new technologies. USA Today. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from  http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-07-27-new-technolgies-for-marketing-to-kids_n.htm 

Smart Consulting Group. (2009). Dishonest marketing in pharmaceuticals demands a big price to pay. SCG. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from  http://www.smartconsultinggroup.com/2009/11/dishonest-marketing-in-pharmaceuticals-demands-a-big-price-to-pay/

Fox, R.F. (2001, November). Warning Advertising May Be Hazardous to Your Health: Ads Pose a hreat to Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cultural Well-Being. USA oday, Volume 130, Issue 2678, 62.

he author discusses different types of advertising and promotion and finds ethical problems in the way many are handled, especially with reference to advertising and promoting goods and services to children. He cites the use of focus groups for toy companies and the ethical implications of improving advertising to kids.

Cohn, E. (2000, January 31). Marketwatch: Consuming Kids. he American Prospect, Volume 11, Issue 6, 13.

he author questions the promotion of certain products to children and finds marketers hiring psychologists to shape the message so as to reach children. Other psychologists have denounced such actions and have called for an emendation of the ethics code to govern this sort of promotion in the future.

Ethics in Pricing

Cranberg, G. (1997, March-April). rimming the Fringe:…...

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This author also considers the ethics of distribution in terms of the distribution of goods to foreign markets and also uses the Nestle case of the distribution of baby formula as the primary example. He also offers a review of literature on the subject of cross-cultural marketing.

Pinstrup-Andersen, P. (2005, December 1). Ethics and economic policy for the food system. American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

The author notes that economists usually do not address ethical issues but that he will do so in terms of questions about the food system and how ethical considerations affect the way food is distributed.

Ethics Memo
Ethicacy of Five Hour Energy "No Crash Later" Claims

ecently consumer rights groups are gaining greater traction in the media with their claims that Five Hour Energy's claims of "no crash later" are inaccurate, and at worst, overstated. These claims are based on a study completed six years ago, and whose methodology is not sound (Fabregas, 2012). What's at the center of this debate is the chemical composition of Five Hour Energy and if in fact customers experience a crash after using it or not. The ethicacy of the products' claims are under attack in the media, and with the empirical studies showing evidence this is accurate. The momentum on social media continues to increase on this issue as well and the Five Hour Energy brand is in jeopardy of being negatively affected over the long-term if nothing is done. There also continues to be negative press for energy drinks…...

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References

Fabregas, L. (2012, May 12). Energy shot fails to live up to name. McClatchy - Tribune Business News.

Zmuda, N., & Bruell, A. (2012). Energy drinks battle dark cloud, try to remain beverage bright spot. Advertising Age, 83(45), 8-9.

In recognition that these t-shirts might be found to be objectionable to many young women, who are among our best customers, we contacted Heather Arnet, Executive Director of the omen & Girls Foundation, and offered to discuss the issue with them. e recognize that the shirts in question, while meant to be humorous, might be troubling to some." Despite, or perhaps, one could argue, because of, the controversy generated by the sexually explicit t-shirts, on November 15, 2005, CEO Mike Jeffries stated that the company had enjoyed record third quarter profits. "These strong results reflect the broad momentum and successful differentiation of our brands, confirming our entire organization's dedication to building dominant iconic brands. e are uniquely positioned as the top of mind premium provider of sportswear with brands that appeal to a broad spectrum of customers in the pre-teen through post-collegiate demographic. This is a position we have…...

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Works Cited

Abercrombie & Fitch Issues Joint Statement with Women & Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania." Press Release. Abercrombie & Fitch. 4 Nov 2005.

27 Mar 2008. http://www.abercrombie.com/anf/lifestyles/html/investorrelations.html

Abercrombie & Fitch Reports Third Quarter Results."(4 Nov 2005). Press Release.

Abercrombie & Fitch. 15 Nov 2005. 27 Mar 2008 at http://www.abercrombie.com/anf/lifestyles/html/investorrelations.html

Ethics of Marketing esearch in the Internet Era
Increasingly, management is being taken to be a critical production factor alongside the other factors of production. It therefore follows that the success of a business enterprise is largely hinged on the ability of management to make superior decisions. However, for managers to make effective decisions, they not only need a supportive decision making environment but also a set of tools to enhance their ability to correctly analyze and interpret information so as to advance the agenda of the business in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Marketing research is one such tool.

Marketing esearch as a Management Tool

The relevance of marketing research as a decision making tool for management cannot be overstated. According to Blankenship, Breen and Dutka (1998), marketing research can be taken to be "the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific situation facing the company."…...

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References

Blankenship, A.B., Breen, G.E. & Dutka, A.F. (1998). State of the Art Marketing Research. McGraw-Hill Professional.

Boone, L.E. & Kurtz, D.L. (2011). Contemporary Marketing. Cengage Learning.

Evans, A.N., & Rooney, B.J. (2010). Methods in Psychological Research. SAGE

Haugtvedt, C.P., Machleit, K.A. & Yalch, R. (2005). Online Consumer Psychology: Understanding and Influencing Consumer Behavior in the Virtual World. Routledge Keillor, B.D. (2007). Marketing in the 21st Century: Interactive and Multi-Channel Marketing. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Ethics are often stronger than the laws of the land. Laws are cobbled together by special interests and have little to do with right and wrong, or personal ethical codes. For most people, their own personal codes of ethics will be stronger than the laws. People are much less likely to violate their own personal ethical codes than the laws.
Morals are codes of conduct put forward by a society, often within the context of a cultural or social group. Ethics are, following the Aristotelian tradition, a general guide to behavior that an individual adopts as his own guide to life (Gert, 2011). The relationship between the two is self-evident: while ethics are individual they are often strongly influenced by society's moral context.

Kohlberg (1971) outlined morals are being pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Pre-conventional morals are in the obedience and punishment orientation and the self-interest orientation. Like when you learn that killing…...

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References

Anderson, K. (2009). Ethnographic research: A key to strategy. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from  http://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy/ar/1 

Gert, B. (2011). The definition of morality. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-definition/ 

Kohlberg, L. (1971) From Is to Ought: How to Commit the Naturalistic Fallacy and Get Away with It in the Study of Moral Development. New York: Academic Press.

Friedman, M. (1971). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from  http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html

One strategy that we have seen more and more actually preceded the current economic recession is product placement instead of traditional advertisement in commercials (Howard 2005). This may be one of the most effective innovations in our industry since the shift in the 1960s from word-heavy advertising to memorable visual images (Ogilvy 1983).
Q: The Internet and other visual media must factor into that shift as well.

A: Absolutely. The modern advertiser is learning not to focus exclusively on traditional modes of message transmission and product branding like television and billboards. The phenomenon of things like YouTube demonstrate the value of creating imagery that captures the audience's imagination and interest. In fact, future advertisers may eventually question the value of spending so much money on commercials and even product placement when it is possible to reach huge audiences on the Internet, essentially, for free.

Q: The way that the Napster and its…...

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References

Belch, G, Belch, M. (1998) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated

Marketing Communications Perspective. Irwin/McGraw-Hill: New York

Halbert, T., Ingulli, E. (2000) Law & Ethics in the Business Environment. Cincinnati: West Legal Studies. Howard, M. (2005) We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind. New York: The Disinformation Company

Ogilvy, D. (1983) Ogilvy on Advertising

Creativity and good research is key -- not strategies that solicit information from the consumers in unfair ways or make promises about the products that are not valid. These unethical methods are not good business practices, as consumers will soon see through these transparent efforts and easily move their dollars elsewhere with a simple point and click.
Managers must also make sure, before the campaign begins, that employees are in fact aware of what constitutes ethical behavior on an Internet-based campaign, as this may not always be as obvious as the mangers might like to believe. Having a brief 'ethics storming' session early on, in which employees discuss various real and pretend scenarios that stimulate discussion about how to run a campaign in a way that is effective and ethical is a good way to set a high ethical standard early on in the campaign, so problems will not occur…...

Advertising Agency
Government's ole in Advertising egulation

History of attitudes towards advertising

Changing attitudes

Government's authority

Taste and decency

The advertising is a major contributor and visual segment of the complete marketing strategy of a business. It is also noted as one of the image carrier for an organization. The businesses seek support of advertising agenciesdealing in print and electronic media to establish an advertising campaign along with the design of such activities to further their marketing objectives (Shimp, 2013). There are various environmental factors as well as regulations that should be followed by the advertising agencies. The governments also take part in evaluation of the content printed in advertisements. The role of government in regulating the advertising material and assessment of the content is discussed below. It is required that the governments lower their involvement in such activities and empower the self-regulation of advertisement content through agencies, associations. And above all the target audience.

History of…...

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References:

Carroll, A.B., & Buchholtz, A.K. (2011). Business & society: Ethics and stakeholder management. USA: CengageBrain.

Chryssides, G.D., & Kaler, J.H. (1993). An introduction to business ethics.USA: CengageBrain.

De Fleur, M.L. en EE Dennis (2002). Understanding Mass Communication.A Liberal Arts Perspective.

O'guinn, T.C., Allen, C.T., & Semenik, R.J. (2011). Advertising and integrated brand promotion.USA: Cengage Learning.

Ethics in esearch
For organizations of all types, the last three decades have been crucial in changing the manner in which organizations interact with each other, stakeholders, the government, and themselves. Most of these changes occurred because of the evolution of globalization, which after the Cold War, increased cooperation between nations and regions while, at the same time, increased stakeholder expectations, opened hundreds of new markets, and now requires that organizations operate on a new level. Particularly after the Enron scandal, stakeholders expect more transparency and honesty from organizations. In fact, a recent survey found that 74% want to know more about the ethical stance and nature of a company prior to purchasing from them. At the same time, 92% of FTSE 100 companies provide no metrics, benchmarks, or quantitative measurements within their annual report (Suter, 2012).

Because of advances in technology and communication, this has also bled over into how businesses…...

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REFERENCES

Gutman and Thompson. (2004). Why Deliberative Democracy. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2009). Practical Research: PLanning and Design. New York: Prentice Hall.

Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research: A Resource for Users of Social Research Methods in Applied Settings. New York: Wiley.

SA Health Info. (2010, April). Ethics issues in qualitative research. Retrieved from sahealthinfo.org: http://www.sahealthinfo.org/ethics/ethicsqualitative.htm

First, they evaluate the truthfulness of the message. Next, they evaluate the authentic of the persuader. Third, they determine the persuader's level of respect for the persuadee. Fourth, they examine the equity of the persuasive appeal. Finally, they look at the social responsibility for the common good of the action they are being urged to take. Combining all five elements together, a person is able to make a judgment about a persuader's ethics.
Personally, I feel that ethical judgments are most effectively made at a situational level. I do not believe that universal ethics apply, but instead feel that situations can help determine the ethicality of a particular action. For example, I do not feel it would be unethical for an American President to lie to the American people about a planned attack on foreign country if being honest would jeopardize the soldiers on the mission. Likewise, I do not…...

Ethics
Computer

Marketing obacco Dilemma

After returning from Ohio on a road trip, some friends informed us that on the way back home while gassing up, they were asked by kids on two different occasions to buy them some cigarettes. Our friends told the kids no on each occasion. What does this isolated observation have to do with the tobacco industry? he tobacco industry has continued to market their products to children throughout the nation, and they have even gone after kids in other nations. "Since the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in 1998, tobacco advertising and promotion has significantly increased in the retail environment." (New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services) he description of the kids, obviously minors, asking an adult to buy them cigarettes is illegal. What the tobacco industry has continued to do in regard to marketing cigarettes to kids is immoral, unethical and illegal. his paper provides insight into…...

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The tobacco industry has been forced to look abroad to sell the majority of their cigarettes and third world countries may be perfect targets. "By the year 2000, 80% of the world's population will live in less-developed countries. These countries already consume more tobacco than the developed countries." (Chapman & Leng, 2004) The United States tobacco giants have gone as far as litigate through international courts to forcefully open up third world nations' markets to tobacco products. In 2000, the Tobacco giants together sued Thailand in General Agreement and Tariffs and Trade court to reduce their tobacco tariffs. The U.S. Tobacco companies were working feverishly to maintain their profitability but they are clearly going about it through an unethical marketing effort.

We all know that how a product is marketed can make a huge difference in sales. "Brazil also has probably the highest level of tobacco advertising per capita in the world. When advertising stopped for a year, cigarette sales fell 4.8% in nine months." (Chapman & Leng, 2004) The American Cancer Society continues to be critical of U.S. tobacco companies' marketing strategies. Everyone hears about the United States' trade surplus. But not many people ever hear that the United States has become the largest exporter of tobacco products in the world. Our tobacco companies have been chastised because they not only sell a product they know is harmful; they boost the very properties that make the product bad when selling abroad. In other words, they sell cigarettes with tar levels that are higher than the products sold in the United States. The worst part of this is that their marketing strategy is directed at women and children in countries that never had high levels of smokers.

There have to be alternatives to this approach of selling high tar laced cigarettes in third world nations to women and children. It just sounds wrong because it is wrong.

(Southwest Airlines Corporation)
The employees are always put first at Southwest Airlines, and according to the CEO Herb Kelleher, who was responsible for founding the company Southwest Airlines, the philosophy that employees come first is deeply embedded in the psyche of the company, and if the employees of the company are happy and contented and fully satisfied with their work, then they will most definitely take better care of the customers of the company, and this is exactly what happens at Southwest Airlines. When the customers are happy at the treatment that they receive at Southwest Airlines, they, quite naturally keep coming back for more, and this in turn makes the shareholders extremely happy and satisfied. The employees at Southwest Airlines are some of the best and most highly paid employees of any airline, and in general, all the walls of the company are always filled with several pictures of…...

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References

Abenes, Fiorello B. "Marketing Study of Southwest Airlines" Retrieved at Accessed 30 August, 2005http://www.csupomona.edu/~lbabenes/MBA/SouthwestMarketingStrategies.doc.

Aviation Accident Brief" (2002) Retrieved at   Accessed 30 August, 2005http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2002/AAB0204.htm .

100 Best Corporate Citizens for the year 2005" (Spring 2005) Business Ethics Magazine.

Retrieved at   Accessed 29 August, 2005http://www.business-ethics.com/whats_new/100best.html .