Marketing Communications

ETHICS AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 557

always considered unethical. Still others distinguish three basic dimensions of ethical decision-

making: moral equity (perceived fairness, justice, acceptability), relativism (guidelines,

requirements of the social/cultural system) and contractualism (implied obligation, contracts,

duties, rules).^5

Ethical issues in marketing communications originate from the clash between business

practice and social concerns, such as environmental and social values and societal notions

about honesty, honour, virtue and integrity.^6 Marketing and marketing communications have

oft en been accused of creating a materialistic culture of conspicuous consumption, playing

on emotions, simplifying real human situations into stereotypes, exploiting anxieties, employ-

ing techniques of intensive persuasion that amount to (hidden) manipulation, maximising

appeal and minimising information, trivialising, and generally reducing men, women and

children to the role of irrational consumer ( Photo 16.1 ).^7

Photo 16.1 Stereotyping?

Source : Getty Images.

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