Marketing Communications

572 CHAPTER 16 ETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

happened. In other words, deception is not a normative concept; advertising should be judged

by its consequences (i.e. teleologically). Some ads are indeed (un)intentionally misleading

in the sense that they lead to false beliefs and material harm. However, sometimes advertising is

just miscomprehended, in which case this is a responsibility of both advertisers and consumers.

Th e legal notion of deception ignores intention and focuses upon the consumer’s perception.

Th e line between miscomprehension and misleadingness (an ethical problem) rests upon

the ‘reasonable person standard’. In other words, an ad cannot be considered to be ethically

wrong if a ‘reasonable person’ comprehends it correctly. Th e author claims that, for that reason,

misleadingness is a normative issue and cannot be determined empirically. Who is going to

decide on who is a ‘reasonable person’?^108 Further, Koslow argues that consumers are sometimes

sceptical about honest claims that they fi nd hard to believe, even if they have no rational

reason for doing so. Consumers are oft en too vigilant against potentially misleading advertisers.

Th is is due to reactance and defensive avoidance (‘this message has a commercial intent; I will

not be persuaded just like that; they shouldn’t think I am so easily convinced’).^109

Public relations

Stakeholders expect companies to be open, loyal and credible and to have integrity. Th e term

public relations sometimes seems to be used in a way that is almost synonymous with half-

truth, insincerity and manipulation, and PR communications oft en seem to distract and

obfuscate rather than inform. Oft en, the most ethically sensitive situation is when companies

are faced with a crisis. How do companies react to negative publicity? Do they acknowledge

problems, for instance with respect to unsafe products? No company should do things that

harm its long-term reputation with its stakeholders. Firms that make a habit of using PR

techniques to mislead stakeholder groups are in eff ect consuming in the short term the trust

upon which their long-term profi table existence may depend.^110

Another PR-related instrument that is ethically sensitive is corporate hospitality – entertain-

ment and hospitality off ered by the selling organisation to the buying organisation. Where

does building closer relationships with stakeholders end and bribery begin? Some would say

that corporate hospitality is far less serious than bribery, but on the same continuum.

Direct marketing

Direct marketing, and especially teleselling, is oft en accused of high-pressure sales techniques,

particularly when applied to vulnerable groups. Telesales calls sometimes intrude on personal

privacy (e.g. unsolicited direct mails or calls, unwelcome sales approaches), and there is a

general concern about the large amounts of personal data being collected and ending up in

databases for (direct) marketing purposes. Also in these cases, respect for individuals, e.g.

refraining from causing unwarranted distress or shock, ensures that marketing communica-

tions remain within generally accepted boundaries of taste and decency.

In March 2003, Benetton and Philips announced that Philips was going to help Benetton embed computer chips in

the clothes it sells, enabling individual garments to be tracked, potentially beyond the point-of-sale. This initiative

was announced at a time when the following things also happened:

BUSINESS INSIGHT

The privacy issue and two big brands

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