Good marketing, as our textbook (Grewal, D., & Levy, M. (2013). M: Marketing (3rd Ed). McGraw-Hill Irwin.) states, “requires thoughtful planning with an emphasis on the ethical implications of any of those decisions on society in general.” Ethics, then, is certainly important for the success of any business and its reputation, attracting customers to the firms’ products as well as attracting potential employees and investors. Unethical behavior, on the other hand, does quite the opposite, damaging the firm’s reputation and making it less appealing to customers, employees and investors. There are many different types of unethical behavior in business from false advertising and unethical pricing practices to unfair treatment of employees.
I found an interesting article where a marketing ad was viewed as sexist. In the UK, a television commercial was shown for a supermarket called Asda. In it, a mother carries out numerous Christmas tasks for her family, including doing all the shopping, attempting to transport a huge Christmas tree, wrapping oddly-shaped gifts, cleaning the house, and preparing a huge turkey dinner. Although Asda probably intended it to be a very light hearted and fun commercial, it was interpreted by many to be offensive. It received “a furious backlash” over its sexist and stereotypical content. Mums aren’t the only ones “behind every great Christmas” or are always in the kitchen. Although, in my opinion, this ad is more truthful than scandalous, as this different article argues. Many businesses want to stand out and therefore might take risks and push boundaries. It just goes to show how much planning must be involved in the marketing process. You never know who might be offended.
Here is the video of the ad:
