Somebody has said true, “Advertising is an art of persuasion.” Every business relies on advertisements to eloquently communicate with the targeted audience about products and services. Advertising can sometimes be so compelling that it can create the demand for new things among people that they may not need.
Businesses are always looking for creative ways to interact with their audiences to induce them to buy their products and services, but they often cross the line and do not realize that when their advertisement ways turn to unethical.
To find the answer of whether advertising is ethical or not, first you must know the difference between both the terms.
Ethical Advertising and Principles
Ethical advertising demonstrates professionalism by revealing the truth about the product. It neither promotes any deceptions and concealments nor stretches the capability of a product rather it disseminates all terms and conditions on all platforms.
No ambiguous words should be used to communicate with audience as it will become unethical if the product is bought only for that reason. Such advertisements must maintain transparency and credibility
Ethical advertisers treat their consumers fairly and use discretion based on the nature of the product or service. These advertisements never intend to compromise with social conscious. As long as an advertisement is ethical, it will not target human emotions such as lust, fear and greed. Further, these will not revolve around age, religion, gender and race.
There is no particular definition of ethical advertising. Ethics are a matter of philosophy and hence it is open to debate. Ethical practices revolve around internal beliefs that vary from person to person. It is not surprising if you find practices morally wrong that others think are right.
Unethical Advertising and Practices
Many people get baffled by unethical and illegal advertising. You must note that unethical and illegal are not interchangeable. Unethical means not sticking to all rules and regulations. It includes coaxing buyers into buying any product or service by making outlandish claims. This advertising includes exaggerated statements and stretches the capability of a product.
For instance, “We are invincible,” “Avant-garde technology,” “100% customer satisfaction,” etc. These terms are more often than not used to make people believe that the product can 100% resolve their problems.
Further, you can find some grey areas in unethical advertisements like not disclosing all terms and conditions, black-hat link building techniques, using people’s information without consent to send emails, emotional exploitation and so forth. However, these terms are not breaking law and hence cannot be considered illegal.
Unethical advertising means relaxing moral values or ethical codes, but illegal advertising means breaking laws that may harm customers.
Conclusion
It is impossible to be on the one side of the fence. Whether advertising is ethical or unethical has always been a debatable topic. The most common reasons for inviting a debate over this topic is there is no particular definition of ethical behavior as it is driven by internal beliefs.
At last, you can say that an advertisement is ethical as long as it is created with the intention that consumers will comprehend it and be persuaded to act on it to derive positive results. An ad becomes unethical if it is made with the intention to fool customers to only fetch money out of their pockets.
In 2018, digital marketing is going to play a vital role in brand building. From online shopping, artificial intelligence and machine learning to chat-bots and emerging trends in the banking sector, the essence of digital marketing is here to stay. We belong to the new age tech-world; where inspiring modern technology comes into the market every day. Brand builders, market masters, entrepreneurs and business wizzes should be aware of the constant changes in the world today to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities. Below is a list of trends to watch out for:
Smart Phones
With the rapid day by day increase in smart phone users, consumer marketing now has a new face catering to the online community. PCs and laptops are not as visible as before with mobiles becoming the easy way out. Mobiles are handy, convenient to carry around, easy to use and highly addictive. Social networking, online shopping and banking services are made easy to use with apps on smart phones. New and adaptable technology in the smart phone world will soon lead to changes in consumer behavior.
Voice Assistance
With smart phones comes voice assistance technology. It is becoming popular among users of all ages and becoming more convenient to get questions answered as well. Be it Siri, Google or Alexa, these voice assistance technologies have played a great role in changing the way users interact with their devices. It has also been a phenomenal success for developers in bringing voice assistance to the table and into devices we use every day. Most businesses and brands will need to understand the nitty-gritties of voice assistance and gradually spread awareness on how to use this technology to everyone’s advantage invariably helping the boom of digital marketing between sellers and buyers.
AR & VR
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies have taken the world by a storm. After Apple integrated the AR into its devices last year, other smart phone tycoons and manufacturers have also started developing their own AR enabled devices. Virtual reality devices are widely available in the market, all thanks to the young generation that want to move miles ahead at a time when it comes to adopting new technology. Due to these devices, the user experience for movies, music, photos, videos, especially games has improved a lot. It’s very different from what it used to be and has quickly emerged as a life changing experience. Businesses will be required to focus on strategies like public interaction and engagement to understand and optimize the mobile experience for their consumers creating higher sales and profits as results.
Innovations in smart phone technologies have emerged as game changers for this fast moving industry with digital marketing aiding businesses all over the world. It has become more acceptable, adaptable and an affordable means for mass marketing. Brands who are looking to reach their full potential and emerge as trendsetters must look at innovative ways of using modern technology to reach out to their target audiences.
Going down the Memory lane, what comes to your mind when you think of those vacations spend in grandparents’ place?
When I think of my childhood times spend with my grandparents, all that I remember was those indoor games played, all those afternoons when my only purpose was to disturb the oldies, who were trying to slow down with a lazy post noon naps. My grandparents knew very well how to keep me occupied.
They used to Keep me engaged with koshuns koshuns game (Questions game) they would say a tagline and ask me to identify the product (like neighbours envy owners Pride & I would shout out with excitement saying it’s some xyz TV) or he would just show me a thing and ask me to guess the Brand.
Never in my wildest of dreams I thought that I would one day become an Ad Man myself and would think of a cheeky line that I used to hum for fun, and that would turn into the guiding lines of my work.
We all know that Advertising is not a God made need, but a manmade necessity. Yet it defines our lives so much.
In today’s consumer driven world, although masses make the market it’s the entrepreneurs who actually controls the cruise. A successful entrepreneur is the one who creates wonders out of nothing. And the one who makes the magic happen for him is the Ad man.
An good entrepreneur never shies away from investing his/her money in a right direction, they would collaborate with a creative advertising team and pitch out to masses in a very systematic manner, because they understand that the major aspect that defines any business model is its Advertising.
A leader always visualizes his/her product like a successful Brand. Their approach in totality towards advertising is the key that will take the product places, the magic of successful advertising campaigns is such that products just don’t remain products, they move on to become brands or lovable entities in the eyes of consumers.
With the print and electronic media becoming an integral part of an advertising industry, Advertising has assumed a crucial role in the success of new products. And to cruise control the choice of masses, also their lifestyles.
Successful advertising campaigns have been a testimony to the fact that customers are kings & Queens, and once they love a product, it’s sure to become a brand.
Starting from soft drinks, to shampoos or luxury cars, advertising can create a world of difference in the future prospects of a product and the company.
There is fierce competition to gain a lion’s share in the market, so better the advertising strategies, higher the chances of success.
Unlike other advertising firms, we here at UPPERCUT CRETIVES understand the Clientele’s aspirations and consumer sentiments, we balance both and walk in a perfect path that leads us and all our partners to a position where they are looked upon as a Brands, loved and owned by masses
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To sum it up in one line, I would say that, we are the Support system that a Successful Entrepreneur always needs. The one who know and believes that he/she is one in a million.
I know your answer would be a big Yes (I trust you Completely) But have you ever thought about that race, do you know why it is being included in the modern day Olympics, what is the excitement of watching such a race, how does it ignite us from with-in.
Join me on a tiny time travel, to know little about these pondering questions, let our time machine take us to the summer Olympics of 1896, (the first modern day Olympics) here the buzz is all about two male athletes one Mr Tom Curtis from America and the other one is from Great Britain Mr Goulding.
These two athletes participated in the 110 meter high hurdles race, this particular race turned into a personal race between these two, at the start Curtis gained a small lead, but Goulding reached him at the first hurdle. And by the last hurdle, Goulding was leading, but Curtis managed to throw himself to the line first. Both athletes had a time of 17.6 seconds but the officials stated that Curtis had won by 5 centimetres.
Thomas Curtis was the winner of 110 meters high hurdles in first modern day Olympics. He secured a place in history of that sport by a lead of just 5 centimetres.
What a lesson for life. ‘victory is won not in miles but in inches – win a little now, hold your ground and later win a little more.’ This “Mantra” holds so aptly for advertising too.
We at Uppercut Creatives firmly believe in this mantra, we are not in any mad race, we are running a great Olympic race (we piously value Advertising) we value each and every step that takes us and clientele, close to the victory line, we believe in succeeding today and tomorrow and day after too…
We are aware of the hurdles that trouble any business firm, and we believe in leaping through them convincingly.
The ultimate purpose of any business firm is to grow in a healthy manner, it must be financially rewarding and accomplishing too, Uppercut Creatives treat our clientele like Olympic Champions and we wish to prize them with Olive wreath of success with our unique and successful Ad Campaigns.
Remember the Legend of Rocky balboa and Bill Conti’s signature tune that plays when Rocky hits the streets, yeah! Near the Philadelphia museum of art steps, what do you think of it, aren’t you exited watching him, it’s kinda inspiring right, and the funda is very simple, No victory is achieved on its D-Day, The victory is dreamed and planned on the day 1 when the Idea to do something sprouts in the minds.
In the game of Boxing, there is a magic that captivates the spectators, makes their heart beat pounding high and high. What is it all about? Do you think it comes from the innate human desire for the kill? How do we feel when we see a solid power punch delivered to hammer the opponent to floor? Do you feel pained or victorious? Do you think the sport of boxing very cruel and bloody or inspiring and thought provoking?
For generations people have fought hand-to-hand combats, bloody battles sometimes for the power and sometimes just for fun, or maybe even for love. Whatever be the reason, a combat was and will always be a part of human activity, combats like Modern-day boxing are very safe and are evolved sports, in boxing there is pain, but there is also gain.
Modern day boxing is not restricted to Boxing matches, we can draw parallels everywhere, be it politics, media or market everywhere we can see boxing bouts and Knockouts, for instance, Take Advertising an Advertising campaign is nothing short of a boxing match. It has all the elements, planning the punch – making a rightful impact – review the opponent’s strength – make changes accordingly – delivering knockout punches – walking away with the fame.