Ethics of Non-Traditional Marketing by Advertisers
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethics of non-traditional marketing by advertisers. Multiple aspects of the specific type of advertising will be explained and backed up with research, examined through the Potter Box, compared with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for legal and ethical marketing, and specific examples of invasive and ethically questionable marketing. A comparison will be done to explain the difference between traditional and nontraditional marketing. Moreover, the ethical perspectives of Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative” and Michel Foucault’s philosophy on power will help further the analysis of the ethics of nontraditional marketing. Following these guidelines, this paper will, hopefully, explain the ethicalities of the specified marketing behavior by advertising companies to unsuspecting consumers.
Guerrilla On the Loose
Postmodernism and the ever-changing popular culture have shaped a new era of advertising. People are becoming less and less susceptible to traditional advertisements such as commercials, branding, billboards, and newspaper or magazine ads. For these reasons and the recession, advertising firms searched for newer and cheaper ways to advertise to the public. However, this non-traditional way of advertising brings about questions of ethics due to the invasiveness and harm it can cause. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethics of non-traditional marketing by advertisers. This will be achieved through defining each aspect of non-traditional marketing, looking at the topic through the Potter Box, comparing it with official guidelines, analyzing through Immanuel Kant’s and Michel Foucault’s perspectives, and using examples of questionable non-traditional marketing strategies. The non-traditional marketing this paper will look at is called guerrilla marketing. According to David Hickman (2007), guerrilla marketing “was first defined as ‘an unconventional
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethics of non-traditional marketing by advertisers. Multiple aspects of the specific type of advertising will be explained and backed up with research, examined through the Potter Box, compared with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for legal and ethical marketing, and specific examples of invasive and ethically questionable marketing. A comparison will be done to explain the difference between traditional and nontraditional marketing. Moreover, the ethical perspectives of Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative” and Michel Foucault’s philosophy on power will help further the analysis of the ethics of nontraditional marketing. Following these guidelines, this paper will, hopefully, explain the ethicalities of the specified marketing behavior by advertising companies to unsuspecting consumers.
Guerrilla On the Loose
Postmodernism and the ever-changing popular culture have shaped a new era of advertising. People are becoming less and less susceptible to traditional advertisements such as commercials, branding, billboards, and newspaper or magazine ads. For these reasons and the recession, advertising firms searched for newer and cheaper ways to advertise to the public. However, this non-traditional way of advertising brings about questions of ethics due to the invasiveness and harm it can cause. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethics of non-traditional marketing by advertisers. This will be achieved through defining each aspect of non-traditional marketing, looking at the topic through the Potter Box, comparing it with official guidelines, analyzing through Immanuel Kant’s and Michel Foucault’s perspectives, and using examples of questionable non-traditional marketing strategies. The non-traditional marketing this paper will look at is called guerrilla marketing. According to David Hickman (2007), guerrilla marketing “was first defined as ‘an unconventional
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