Marketing Communications

564 CHAPTER 16 ETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Sex and nudity appeals are frequently used in advertising as a means to attract attention to

the ad ( Photo 16.2 ). Today, up to 38% of ads using men show the model in a sexual context.^44

Women, however, are even more likely to be portrayed in sexually appealing roles. Most

previous research has concluded that scantily dressed or erotic appeals elicit a negative aff ec-

tive reaction of the public and result in decreased brand recall.^45 Two experimental studies

involving Belgian men and women explored how more revealing displays of a model’s body

in advertising messages can impact on individuals’ body esteem. Samples of Belgian men and

women were exposed to an advertising image containing a male or female model in either

pyjamas or just underwear. Th e results showed that scantily dressed models had a negative

eff ect on individuals’ body esteem compared with dressed models. When the models were

dressed more revealingly, it was the opposite-sex model that had the most negative eff ect

on participants’ body esteem, possibly due to an increased sexual salience. Scantily dressed

models in advertising appear to aff ect the body esteem of both men and women.^46 S o m e

would deem this eff ect to be undesirable and thus unethical.

Covert marketing

Covert marketing is a fi rm’s marketing actions whereby consumers believe that the activities

are not those of the fi rm. It exists in many forms, and is sometimes referred to as stealth

marketing, buzz marketing, masked marketing or word-of-mouth marketing. Stealth marketing

is formally defi ned as the use of marketing practices that fail to disclose or reveal the true rela-

tionship with the company that produces or sponsors the marketing message. Buzz marketing

is giving people a reason to talk about the company’s products or services and making

it easier for that conversation to take place.^47 Also, covert forms of information gathering,

such as placing ‘cookies’ on a person’s computer system to enable identifi cation of this person

when he or she next visits the website, are a form of covert marketing. Another example is a

fl og (fake weblog), when fi rms develop a fake consumer blog about the consumption of some

In 2006, UNICEF in Belgium created a unique, but shocking TV commercial about the impact of war on children.

The ad features the blue Smurf cartoon characters in a war setting. The ad starts out on a nice sunny day with the

traditional Smurf song: ‘Hey, come to Smurf country, welcome to all. Yes, come to Smurf country, the country of

pomp and circumstance’. Immediately after, the Smurf village is annihilated by warplanes. Smurfs are lying dead all

over the street, a baby is crying without its mum or dad being around... The tagline of the spot reads ‘Don’t let

war affect the lives of children.’ The ad was meant for the adult population and was aired only after 9 p.m. The

objective of the campaign was to raise awareness about the many ways in which conflict destroys children’s lives

in general, and to raise money for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi in particular. Currently, about

300 000 children are being used as child soldiers worldwide. Moreover, almost one in two of the 3.6 million

humans killed in conflicts since 1990 are children. The campaign showed what many children are experiencing in real

life. The ad featured Smurfs because Smurfs have been part of Belgian culture since 1958. Adult viewers immediately

recognise the blue cartoon figures which make them think back to their youth. The emotional bond they have with

the Smurfs made the ad more shocking. Smurfs were deliberately used here to enhance the impact and awareness

of the campaign. The campaign has been in the news worldwide, receiving both positive and negative comments.

Some think the ad featured unnecessary violence, others praised the creative approach to draw attention to the

problem. One way or another, the campaign worked and received an award for its effectiveness.^43

BUSINESS INSIGHT

UNICEF: Don’t let war affect the lives of children

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