Advertising Theory
Advertising does not create materialism or excessive demand. Advertising is simply a process by which consumers receive information about the products and services provided by businesses. If consumers cannot practice safe spending and maintain self control over their wants and needs, then yes, advertising may tempt them into shopping compulsion overload. However, suggesting that advertising creates materialism is like saying, for example, that doctors are responsible for the addictive actions taken by pain pill abusers. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Advertising does not create inappropriate, unhealthy, or immoral products, producers do. An intelligent advertiser will avoid working on behalf of producers who create such products because ultimately the FTC will file suit with him if the product is indeed found to be legally inappropriate, unhealthy, or immoral.
Ethically, however, the lines of such “inappropriate, unhealthy, and immoral” boundaries become blurred. Ethics are based, in part, upon our own individual morals and values. Some consumers may disagree with the product or service an advertiser is promoting, however if the advertiser is not 1) conveying the message illegally or 2) forcing the product upon the consumer then I don’t see a problem with their actions.
I would like to believe that I have a solid platform of morals and values. If I felt strongly about a certain product being inappropriate, unhealthy, or immoral I probably wouldn’t hesitate to pass the advertising opportunity on to a colleague. However, I wouldn’t deem my colleagues’ advertising actions inappropriate, unhealthy, or immoral because they are simply passing along certain information to consumers about how a product or service that satisfies consumer needs. As long as the information is presented in a manner which is not illegal, misleading, or deceptive, there is no problem with the advertiser’s actions.