One of the first things that come to mind when I think of the ethical issues of marketing is smoking advertisements, and Dina’s post on the American Tobacco Company’s marketing efforts towards women during the suffragist movement was a fascinating example of the ethical dilemma of marketing. My initial reaction to the advertisements was similar to Dina’s: shock and distress. Yet, after some thought I think the ethical problems of ATC’s actions are not as clear as it seemed at first. First of all, I disagree with Dina’s statement that ‘marketing is not a manipulation of people’s minds,’ because in, essence, that is what marketing (and any form of argument or debate) is. When you convince someone of the value of something in any way, including through product education and product labelling, it can still be thought of as a manipulation of the thoughts of consumers, as you are changing their perspective and emotions towards a product. Consumers do have choice and information, and the market transaction does involve selling a product that has value to consumers. But, the nature of the value can be psychological, and that’s where marketing can have the most influence and where the ethical issues are greatest.

I think it’s easy to think that the company was using the heightened emotions and feminist ideals of the time to get women to smoke. But, on the other hand, the ATC was a well-known and respected company at the time, and featuring women smoking in its advertisements could also be seen as a statement in support of the suffragettes’ campaign for greater equality.

So what was the legacy of these ads? Did it help women fight for equality or did it convince women to harm their bodies for their ideals? And if it did both, can we weigh an ethical issue using costs and benefits, or is any cost too much?

I don’t have any answers for these questions, but I do know that marketing has a profound influence on our lives, and the amount of power that corporations have on our decisions can have far-reaching consequences for society as well as individuals.

Image source: prmuseum.com