Some time have passed since we talked about ethics in class (just before reading break) but I have decided to write about it anyways just because the
I would like to see myself as a relatively ethical person but the topic of ethics in the advertising and promotions has a somewhat sarcastic note in my head. I don’t completely know how I feel about businesses being attacked for “sugar coating” information about their products, for using unrealistic “model figures” in their advertisement or for portraying products in a way that leads costumers to have unrealistic expectation of the products. As a consumer I understand why consumers get frustrated and angry with businesses for practicing what consumer perceive to be “unethical practices”. Though as someone that sees itself working in the marketing and maybe even in advertising or promotions, I find the idea of selling a product in a total ethical way almost impossible, in addition I find the definition of ethics in the advertising industry as a problematic issue by itself.
Few weeks ago I came across this article http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/03/too-perfect-rachel-weiszs-loreal-ad-banned-in-britain-for-being-misleading/ about a Loreal ad featuring Rachel Weisz that was banned in the UK due to the fact that the ad was “misleading”. Loreal got in a lot of trouble for the use of photoshop in their printed ads and for being “exaggerated misleading”. Photoshop in not a new thing in the advertising industry especially when it comes to beauty products, while I may or may not support the use of photoshop in certain industries I think its quite unrealistic to ask beauty companies to remove those ads on the bases of “exaggeration”. What I find even more interesting is finding that line between “exaggeration” and “acceptable” or between whats ethical and what is simply not.