REVIEW QUESTIONS
3-4. Explain the debate over whether advertising shapes or mirrors society. If you
were to take a side in this debate, which side would you choose?
The second half of the 20th century was notable for the rise of a materialistic consumer
culture in the Western world. Did advertising create this culture, or did it simply
reflect it? At what point does advertising cross the line between reflecting social
values and creating them? Critics argue that advertising has repeatedly crossed this
line, influencing vulnerable groups such as children and young teenagers too strongly.
3-5. What do you consider the most pressing ethical issues facing advertisers?
Explain.
In the early 21st century, advertisers face a range of pressing social issues. Critics
argue that advertising leads people to be too materialistic and that it has contributed to
As the line blurs between news and advertising in media, audiences may not know
Other pressing social issues for advertisers include: taste and offensive advertising,
stereotyping, body- and self-image problems, targeting strategies, problems with
Finally, there is concern about ethical issues that are emerging as a result of the
Internet, according to a survey of industry leaders. The checks and balances in place
3-6. Explain how trademarks and copyrights are legally protected and why the First
Amendment is important to advertisers.
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A trademark is a distinctive symbol or a brand, corporate, or store name that identifies
the seller’s brand and thus differentiates it from the brands of other sellers. A
A copyright gives an organization the exclusive right to use or reproduce original
Because trademarks and copyrights are critical communication devices for products
The most basic federal law that governs advertising is the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which says that Congress shall make no law “. . . abridging the
The U.S. Supreme Court does permit some restrictions on commercial speech. The
Court has held that false or misleading commercial speech can be banned. Because
3-7. In addition to the FTC, what other governmental bodies are involved in
regulating advertising practices?
Other governmental bodies include the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal
Communications Commission, the Patent Office, the Library of Congress, the Bureau
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
3-8. The Dimento Game Company has a new basketball video game. To promote it,
“Slammer” Aston, an NBA star, is signed to do the commercial. In it, Aston is shown
with the game controls as he speaks these lines: “This is the most challenging court game
you’ve ever tried. It’s all here—zones, man-to-man, pick and roll, even the alley-oop. For
me, this is the best game off the court.” Is Aston’s presentation an endorsement? Should
the FTC consider a complaint if Dimento uses this strategy? What would you need to
know to determine if you are safe from a challenge of misleading advertising?
Aston appears to be delivering his genuine, personal experience with the game and
offering his opinion and assessment. It is his endorsement of the product. The FTC
should have no quarrel with the strategy unless there is some evidence the product
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3-9. Zack Wilson is the advertising manager for the campus newspaper. He is looking
over a layout for a promotion for a spring break vacation package. The headline says,
“Absolutely the Finest Deal Available This Spring—You’ll Have the Best Time Ever if
You Join Us in Boca.” The newspaper has a solid reputation for not running advertising
with questionable claims and promises. Should Zack accept or reject this ad? Take one
side of this issue and write a short 1-2 page position paper explaining your viewpoint. In
a class discussion, determine how many of your classmates agreed or disagreed with your
view.
Zack can run the ad without fear of losing his reputation. The headline is a prime
example of puffery—vague, exaggerated, superlative claims—and “reasonable
TAKE HOME PROJECTS
3-10. Check the Websites of three big-name companies such as:
McDonald’s (www.mcdonalds.com)
Avon (www.avon.com)
Ben & Jerry’s (www.benjerry.com)
Starbucks (www.starbucks.com)
Body Shop(www.thebodyshop.com)
Target (www.target.com)
Write a two- to four-page report on their efforts to be socially responsible. How is the
company’s social responsibility position reflected in its advertising?
It will be interesting for the students to learn how easy or difficult it was to find
information about businesses and their efforts toward social responsibility. How
prominent was the information within a website? Do the company’s efforts seem
realistic and results-oriented, or is more effort focused toward public relations? Do
the students have any direct experience with the socially responsible efforts?
3-11. Mini-Case Analysis: Imagine that you are now working for Starbucks. What does
the company do that provides evidence that it is socially and environmentally
responsible? What other ways can you think of for the company to expand these efforts?
To learn about Starbucks’ commitment to social responsibility, students should visit
http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility. The company is committed to helping
communities thrive, ethical sourcing, minimizing its environmental footprint, and in
TRACE North America Case
Multicultural Ethics and Issues
Multicultural Innovation
Read the Trace case in the Appendix before coming to class. Then answer the following
questions:
3-12: Does the “Hard to Explain, Easy to Experience” campaign communicate its brand
message of innovation without using ideas, words, or images that are offensive or
insensitive to the target audience?
3-13: Give an example that demonstrates how the TRACE campaign is socially
responsible.
3-14: What evidence in this case leads you to believe that that the advertising team that
created this campaign understood Multicultural Millennials? Can you identify any
additional insights?
Hands-On Case
P1-1. After reading about “Green Works in the case and on the web, do you think this
product line is a believable attempt by Clorox to improve the environment? Why or why
not?
Student responses to this question will vary. Some will see no reason to believe that
Clorox was insincere in its efforts to contribute to the green movement by creating a line
of eco-friendly products. Skeptics, however, may argue that Clorox viewed this enduring
P1-2. Does Green Works represent an attempt to mirror a trend in society or create one?
This is an effort by Clorox to mirror a trend that has been embraced by consumers for a
P1-3. Had you been the product manager, would you have put the Clorox name on Green
Works products, as the company did? Explain your response.
In hindsight, it is evident that individual branding may have been a better choice than
family branding for GreenWorks. By using an individual branding strategy, the
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P1-4. Do you think that green marketing is an enduring movement? Why or why not?
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
WEB REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What are the key debates concerning the impact of marketing
communication on society?
Three topics generate debate about advertising and marketing communication’s role in
society. They focus on demand creation, shaping versus mirroring of social trends, and
Othersask “does advertising mirror social values or shape them”? Or in other words, at
what point does advertising cross the line between reflecting social values to creating
Finally, there are some who criticize advertising because they think it causes people to
become too materialistic. They argue that advertising heightens expectations and primes
2. What are some ways in which brand communication can avoid hurting its
brand’s image and showing a lack of respect for its audience?
Brand communication should avoid stereotypes, which are a representation of a
cultural group that emphasizes a trait or group of traits that may or may not
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In the global economy, as advertisers seek worldwide audiences for their products,
they sometimes make the mistake of ignoring cultural differences and instead
overlaying their world view on that of another culture in their marketing messages.
Also, advertising that portrays either gender as sex objects is considered demeaning
and sexist, and therefore should be avoid. Explicitly using sex appeal to sell is often
In general marketers should avoid advertising that is in poor taste or offensive. They
3. What are ethics and what are ethical responsibilities of marketing
communicators?
Ethicsare the “shoulds” and “oughts” of behavior. They are “the right thing to
do.”When faced with an ethical decision, the difficulty often lies in making choices
As a professional, you must be aware of industry standards as well as ethical
questions that underlie the core issues that may arise in your profession. You must
Industry standards can help with a decision about ethical behavior. Many professions
have written a code of ethics to help guide practitioners toward ethical behavior,
including the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Public
Relations Society of America, and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. In an
4. What are some product–specific issues related brand communicators must
consider, as it relates to social responsibility? Is it ever acceptable for an
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advertising agency to market an unhealthy or dangerous product? If yes,
under what conditions?
Before an agency can create an ad for a client, it must consider the nature of the client
company and its mission, marketing objectives, reputation, available resources,
One way to make ethical decisions is to choose the route that does no one harm.
Marketers are now being forced to consider the social, as well as nutritional, impact
5. Why is it important that advertising be regulated as a business?
While it would be ideal if individuals and companies always made socially
responsible choices and everyone could agree that those choices resulted in right
actions, sometimes that does not occur and there is a need for regulatory or legal
6. What is a trademark? What are the rights and responsibilities of the owner?
A trademark is a brand, corporate or store name, or a distinctive symbol that identifies
the seller’s brand and thus differentiates it from the brands of other sellers. A
Under the Lanham Trademark Act of 1947, the Patent Office protects unique
7. Discuss the First Amendment, and how it protects commercial speech. What
are its limitations?
First Amendment protection extends to commercial speech, which is speech that
promotes commercial activity. However, that protection is not absolute; it is often
restricted and the Supreme Court generally applies a different standard to commercial
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Although there is freedom in the U.S. for commercial free speech, it is not as widely
valued as other forms of free speech such as that enjoyed by the press and
filmmakers. In essence, the Supreme Court has ruled that only truthful commercial
8. What is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and what does it do? How
does the agency influence advertisers’ behavior?
Established by Congress in 1914 to oversee business, the FTC is the primary agency
Some FTC responsibilities are to: a) initiate investigations against companies that
engage in unfair competition or deceptive practices, b) regulate acts and practices that
deceive businesses or consumers and issue cease-and-desist orders where such
Specifically, the FTC oversees false advertising of such items as foods, drugs,
cosmetics, and therapeutic devices. The FTC hosts the National Do Not Call Registry
to help citizens keep from receiving unwanted telemarketing calls. The FTC monitors
the ratings system and the advertising practices of the film, music, and electronic
The existence of a regulatory agency such as the FTC influences advertisers’
behavior. Although most cases never reach the FTC, advertisers prefer not to risk long
ASSIGNMENTS
Individual Assignments
1. Locate an advertising agency professional of your choice and interview them on the
subject of law or ethics in advertising. Build a list of questions based on the main
principles you are learning in Chapter 3. Possible areas to explore:
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How this person approaches ethical dilemmas posed by advertisers or the media.
Write a 500-word report on your findings, contrasting them with material from
your textbook.
2. During a normal evening of television viewing, record three commercials that utilize
sex appeal to sell a product or service. Then present them to the class. Who would
you guess the target audience is? Why does the advertiser use sex appeal? Do you
believe this is an effective strategy? If so, how? What changes, if any, would you
suggest?
Think-Pair-Share
1. In pairs, go online or flip through magazines to locate examples of the blurring line
between news, advertising, and entertainment. How do you know what is news and
what is entertainment? Why should you care? Is this approach fair to news readers
and viewers? Discuss with the class.
2. What are the similarities and differences between law and ethics in the advertising
business? Discuss how the two are related, and how they are different. Which one is
more important and how do the two combine to influence advertisers’ behavior?
OUTSIDE EXAMPLES
1. Visit www.adbusters.org to see a real-life example of an organization that appears to
be actively working against the conventional advertising industry. Read the
Prepare a brief class presentation on this topic, contrasting your findings with what
you have learned in Chapter 3. Why do you imagine this organization has thrived?
2. Visit the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) online at
www.aaaa.orgScroll to the bottom of the home page and click on “About the
Association” link to locate the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws, Mission
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Statement and Standards of Practice. Compare what you find with your Chapter 3
readings. Consider:
Prepare a 350-word report on your findings, integrating viewpoints from both AAAA
and your textbook.
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