1. Social, Ethical, and Regulatory Aspects of Advertising
Chapter 4
Social, Ethical, and Regulatory Aspects of Advertising

2. Social Aspects of Advertising
Advertising Educates Consumers
Pro: Advertising informs
Con: Advertising is superficial
Advertising improves living standards
Pro: Ads lower the costs of products
Con: Ads are wasteful and help only some
Ch 4: Ethics & Regulation 2

3. Critics of advertising feel that advertising is superficial because many ads carry little actual product information. Do you think advertising is superficial?

4. Advertising affects Happiness and Well-Being
Con: Ads create needs
Pro: Ads address a wide variety of needs
Con: Ads promote materialism
Pro: Ads reflect society’s priorities
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5. Critics feel advertising promotes materialism

6. Advertising: Demeaning and deceitful, or liberating and artful?
Con: Ads perpetuate stereotypes
Pro: Advertisers are more sensitive now
Con: Ads are often offensive
Pro: Ads are a source of liberation
Con: Ads deceive via subliminal stimulation
Pro: Advertising is art
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7. Do you think this ad perpetuates stereotypes?

8. Advertising has a powerful effect on mass media
Pro: Ads foster a diverse and affordable mass media
Con: Advertising affects and controls programming
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9. Ethical Aspects of Advertising
Ethics are the moral standards against which behavior is judged. Key areas of debate regarding ethics and advertising are:
Truth in advertising
Advertising to children
Advertising controversial products
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10. Regulatory Aspects of Advertising
Areas of advertising regulation:
Deception and unfairness
Competitive issues
Vertical cooperative advertising
Comparison advertising
Monopoly power
Advertising to children
Ch 4: Ethics & Regulation 10

11. Key Regulatory Agents Government Regulation
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Wide range of regulatory programs and remedies
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
U.S. Postal Service
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Ch 4: Ethics & Regulation 11

12. Key Regulatory Agents (con’t)
Industry Self-Regulation
National Advertising Review Board (NARB)
State and Local Better Business Bureaus
Ad Agencies and Associations
Media Organizations
Consumers as Regulatory agents
Consumerism: Grass roots consumer movements
Consumers Organizations
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13. Regulation of Other Promotional Tools
Direct Marketing and e-commerce
Privacy, Contests, Telemarketing
Sales Promotion
Premiums, Trade Allowances, Contests
Public Relations
Privacy, Copyright Infringement, Defamation
Ch 4: Ethics & Regulation 13