Successful Marketing? – Diverse perspectives

Companies plan and communicate their desired image and message through marketing, and customers receive and judge it.

Then, what defines “successful” marketing?

Vast amount of people may agree that its success is defined by its effective persuasion or targeting their desired market segments – and ultimately results in huge profits.

Many, including myself, would disagree.
The message they deliver, and the means they choose to do so, must not only be effective but also ethical.

One of the most significant issues in ethical scandals of firms would be advertisements that spark great controversy regarding its honesty, social consciousness, etc.

For example, alcohol advertisements can be a sensitive issue for many audiences as people under the legal age requirement is prohibited from alcohol consumption. If the advertisement is appealing to that group of people, it may be perceived as unethical because it may encourage them to drink – it’s both illegal and unhealthy!

The advertisement below is from South Korea, for Korea’s most popular type of alcohol – soju. The company used celebrities in its ads, emphasizing sexual appeal. The soju’s name “Like the First Time,” also added to its problem.

There were two controversies in this ad.

1) These girl celebrities are singers, referred to as “idols” in Korea. Idols are groups of young K-pop singers who are extremely famous and influential among younger generations.

2) They are too sexual. Perhaps not the photo ads. But the commercials certainly were – to the point that only viewers over the age of 19 may watch it.

For these reasons, the Seoul banned not only these commercials, but any alcohol advertisements from modelling “idols” or using too much emphasis on sexual appeal, as this article states.

Companies should realize that their brand image is heavily influenced by their ethical behavior in the long-run.

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