Advertising with Ethical Issues

Ethics are defined as “moral principles and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual or group” (Belch, pg. 731). Ethics vary throughout society based demographics and other personal opinions. With this in mind it is difficult for a company to make ads that won’t offend anyone, but it is important for companies to consider ethics in general when compiling a marketing and advertising campaign. The majority of the time companies do keep in mind the ethical values of their target audience but sometimes ads emerge that are ethically questionable.

            Burger King released an advertisement in Singapore, a typically more straight-laced city, for their seven-inch cheeseburger.  The advertisement included the caption, “It’ll Blow Your Mind Away” as well as a photo of a woman with her mouth open next to the burger. In this case the advertisers employed the case of shock advertising, where they “use nudity, sexual suggestiveness, or other startling images to get a consumers’ attention” (Belch, Pg. 736). This ad included a sexual suggestiveness that alludes to oral sex. This use of sexual appeals only allows the ad to appeal to a portion of a population, while offending the majority who see it.

            Another company that has repeatedly come across at ethically questionable is Abercrombie and Fitch. After the CEO’s comments regarding how their stores are meant for the “pretty and popular” crowd and not for those who are overweight, the company received more backlash. Even before this the advertisements and Abercrombie displayed portrayed a level of unethicality. Similar to the Burger King ad, Abercrombie utilizes a form of sexual appeals through shock advertising, although at this point many are no longer shocked by the sexual nature associated with their ads, it still presents ethically questionable issues.

Additionally Ikea has also presented several advertisements that include ethically questionable content. One of these ads was featured in Saudi Arabia, where Ikea removed the women from the ads. While this is more typical to Saudi Arabia, it has caused problems with others across the globe. While often ethics issues involving women bases from people perceiving the ads as portraying women as decorative objects and too occupied with beauty and household duties, this Ikea ad just removed women from the picture entirely (Belch, pg. 744). The problems that Ikea has faced with ethical issues are often based on social and cultural differences that evolve from an international company.

Pretesting Advertisements

The cost of advertising can be incredibly expensive. In the U.S. in 2009 the top three advertisers alone spent more than $11 billion on advertising in promotion (Belch, 2001, pg. 603). When spending that much money simply to advertise products or services it is important to make sure that they are effective and are accurately portraying the desired message and reaching the desired audiences. It’s important to conduct marketing research to somewhat accomplish this and to figure out what you believe the desired audience would enjoy and react to, but the original, primary research can only tell advertisers so much.

There are several different types of pretests that advertisers can use based on when in the process they pretest and what they are testing. One example is concept testing. This is done early in the campaign development process to determine the consumer’s reactions to a potential ad and to evaluate alternatives (Belch, pg. 611). The material tested is often just a rough sketch or headline and positioning statement as well as color schemes. Another type of pretesting is rough art, copy, and commercial testing. These include comprehension and reaction tests, which determine if the advertisement portrays the intended meaning, and consumer juries, where consumers rate different layouts or copy versions (Belch, pg. 613). As well as pretesting while developing the advertisement, marketers also pretest the finished ads before putting them into circulation with readability tests, portfolio tests, and on-air tests.

            Once an advertisement has been developed marketers typically want to pretest the ads. Pretesting is done before the campaign is put into place and may occur any time during idea generation to testing the final version (Belch, pg. 609).

There are several reasons for marketers to pretest ads in order to measure the effectiveness. Pretesting can help avoid costly mistakes and allow for the evaluation of alternative strategies to determine what one may work best. Additionally it can increase advertising efficiency. Ultimately by conducting a pretest it can identify the best ads, get rid of the worst, and enhance good ideas.

            Even though there are many advantages to pretesting, there are marketers who do not employ this strategy for several reasons. Reasons that pretesting is not used include the cost, that the storyboard or mock-up may not accurately portray the final product, and time delays (Belch, pg. 610). Though it costs money to conduct these pretests, it can ultimately save money and time by keeping an ineffective or harmful advertisement out of circulation.

Is all publicity actually good publicity?

Q: There is a saying that “any publicity is good publicity.” Discuss what you think about this statement.

When I hear the statement “any publicity is good publicity,” I have conflicted feelings. This statement mainly applies to celebrities, politicians, and corporations and is typically brought up when seemingly bad press surfaces about them. The thing is that even if they are having negative news spread throughout the media about them, the media is still talking about them. They are still being brought to the forefront of the public’s mind, so people are constantly being reminded about them. Often times all the publicity keeps the person or company relevant, even if it is negative.

            Thinking about this statement I immediately think of Miley Cyrus. At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Miley Cyrus made headlines with her provocative and crazy performance. People were talking about how she has gone crazy and is taking things to far to get away from her Disney image, that she would be the next celebrity to have a breakdown. This stunt and the stunts that Miley Cyrus has followed it with have shown that it was all perfectly calculated. All of the ‘negative’ press that followed proved to be good for the performer’s career. Her fans still love her and buy tickets to her shows and her CDs, while others are following her to see what crazy stunt she will pull next. Looking at the VMA stunt, people still think and talk about it, it is still relevant. In Miley Cyrus’ case, “any publicity is good publicity” most definitely applies.

            With major companies and corporations, the statement is not necessarily as true. For the past 10 years GM has had problems with their vehicles that has just forced them to have a massive recall of at least 1.5 million vehicles. This recall has made headlines everywhere; getting plenty of negative publicity for GM. Any publicity is not good publicity for GM. They are being kept relevant and in the consumers mind, just not for any reason to be proud of. The public wants to know what is happening with the company, but they this publicity will not inspire a consumer to go purchase a GM vehicle after a previous problem has been ignored for ten years.

            Seemingly negative publicity can be good publicity, but that is not the case in all situations.

The Role of the Internet in Sales Promotion

Q: Discuss the role the Internet is playing with regard to sales promotion. Why are many companies moving promotions such as contests and sweepstakes online?

The Internet and other technology just as smartphones are contributing majorly to a change in the way that consumers and businesses alike operate. As the presence of the Internet grows and consumers increasingly rely on the Internet to gain information about products and services, it is important for many companies to have a strong online presence. The Internet allows companies to display their products and services to a larger market audience and to more easily establish and build their brand in a cheaper manner than if they conducted mass marketing through another channel.

Due to this growth of technology and the Internet in general, many companies choose to conduct much of their sales promotion online. Contests and sweepstakes are some promotions that have grown through online presence. So many companies of different industries use this method for their contests and sweepstakes such as food companies like Lays, professional sports teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, and clothing stores like American Eagle. Lays has a contest where consumers can enter online new flavors for chips at www.dousaflavor.com to win $1 million if their creation is selected. The Pittsburgh Penguins often have many contests/sweepstakes going on through both online and mobile mediums where participants can win varying prizes from money to game tickets by entering their name online or sending an answer to a question via text message. Additionally American Eagle conducts contests online for their Live Your Life campaign through submitting picture to be voted on by the public. Conducting these promotions online provides several benefits for the companies.

One advantage of conducting sales promotions such as contests and sweepstakes online is the cost. Even when calculating in the development and programming costs for online promotions, it is still cheaper than more traditional methods. Traditional methods require the company to pay for developing and printing out many paper products and supplies for different locations that the contest/sweepstakes will be conducted, as well as paying for advertising for the promotion. Conducting it online, the company only has to have the contest entrance in one spot, that doesn’t require any physical product, as well as the ability to advertise for it on their other social medias and can provide a direct link to the contest/sweepstakes page. Overall the cost for online promotions can be the much cheaper alternative for companies.

Additionally online sales promotions allow the companies to more directly reach their target market. Internet promotion can still be mass marketing but through many sites acknowledging the users interests, the company can choose to advertise only to those that have expressed interest in the company or similar companies.

Advertising through television is one of the most popular forms of advertising for companies. Consumers cannot watch one half hour of TV without being exposed to at least ten minutes of commercials. Even just outside of the usual television advertising through commercials, companies can also place advertisements within programs in a more subtle way. This advertising through television brings with it many advantages as well as presenting many limitations. Advantages of this can also be seen as limitations.

One advantage of television advertising is the ability for greater creativity and impact. Companies can be more creative with their techniques and are able to demonstrate and show off their product or service. Typically the amount of creativity in this media is especially shown off during major events, such as the Super Bowl. Advertisers take the opportunity to set out to create something that will be eye-catching and will make the consumer pay attention. Advertisers have room to be creative and think outside to box Recently many companies have utilized a ‘prank’ like approach to advertise. This is seen through the advertising for the most recent mid-season premiere of the Walking Dead on AMC. 

Another advantage of television advertising is the widespread coverage and cost effectiveness. While the cost of putting together and distributing a commercial is typically quite expensive and can also be a limitation, if the company is attempting to reach a mass-market and widespread audience, this media is more cost effective than creating different advertisements and distributing them everywhere desired.

The Big Bang Theory demands the highest amount of money for a 30-second advertisement at $326,260 (Crupi, 2013). This high cost is justifiable for advertisers based on the shows ratings. On average 19.2 million adults in the 18-49 demographic watch the show (Crupi, 2013).

The cost of television advertising is also seen as a limitation. Not only do advertisers have to pay the high cost to have their commercial placed during a program, but they also need to consider the expenses of creating and producing a quality commercial that will be effective. On average it costs $298,000, a cost that continues to rise with more elaborate commercials (McClellan, 2013).

Selectivity is another factor that can be both an advantage as well as a limitation. Companies can target their audience by displaying their ad on certain television channels such as E! for women, or Sports Center which breaks down the markets. Though this is also a mass media so the companies can be spending all of this money to reach consumers who are not in their target market, making it an ineffective effort.

Belch, G.E., & Belch, M. A. (2001). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective (5^th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

Crupi, Anthony. (13 October 2013). A Pricing Guide to the 2013-2014 Broadcast Season. Ad Week. Retrieved 18 Feb. 2014 from http://www.adweek.com/news/television/big-bang-theory-gets-highest-ad-rates-outside-nfl-153087

McClellan, Steve. (29 January 2013). Costs for TV Spots Rocket 7%. Media Daily News. Retrieved 18 February 2014 from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192213/costs-for-tv-spots-rocket-7.html