Is There Such Thing as Ethical Advertising?

Advertisement regulations eb and flow with different government leadership, yet there are still minimal regulations and laws that address any improvements in how corporations will advertise going forward. What is the true value of advertising and how does it reflection onto consumers? Intrinsic value has thought to be the center of ethics and moral judgement (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2019). Advertisements live in the "grey area" where corporations follow the regulations and laws but will also find a loophole and work around them to continue to push out content. When advertisements push the envelope it begs the question, how ethical was that? It is difficult to truly operate with ethics and a moral compass under capitalism, but with having organizations, like the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration, are crucial to curtailing harmful messaging from entering in society.

Companies have a tremendous amount of responsibility towards consumers. On a basic level they must produce products and service in a matter that fits within the expectations of society. However, consumers are individuals who can make decisions based off the information they have, so companies do not have to be the governing body. Corporations should have consumers' freedom of choice in mind when creating messaging materials, because they will ultimately pick products and service that reflect the type of person they are. Further, companies who knowingly cause harm like pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and nicotine organizations should be transparent with their harmful consequences to maintain trust and credibility in society, but I do not feel it is necessary for them to uphold more than that. As long the communication and messaging is honest and without ambiguity, consumers can make informative choices.

Limiting advertisements should be handled by non-governmental entities and should NOT involve any government individuals. To ensure that companies have a similar playing field to each other, there must be a law that bans people in governmental positions from selecting or tampering with any positions held in the FTC and FDA. This allows those organizations to operate through what is best for society. Additionally, organizations should be held to self-regulation standards and expectations while society continues to hold them accountable. The tolerance Theory highlights that transmits our values and deems what is acceptable and what is not. Consumers will deem what is acceptable and not acceptable within a matter of seconds on the internet. That is one reason why organizations cannot just depend of outside entities to police their work. If the organizations wants to maintain a good standing within society, they should implement a task force to monitor the social world and where trends might be headed to be with or ahead of them. Often, organizations that are with or ahead of social trends tend to gain a following and liking. With that being said, the trendy advertisements should be within reason and always through an ethical lens to foster trust and loyalty to their brand.