ETHICAL DILEMMA
A luxury fashion designer’s most recent ad campaign is striking a nerve! The ad features a woman in a sexual pose wearing only a diamond necklace. The ad campaign was placed in women’s fashion magazines and on billboards. The ad received only three complaints from the magazine but hundreds from the billboards, citing offensive, degrading to women and unsuitable for a public space. The fashion designer claimed the ad is a work of art, and not meant to be offensive to women.
QUESTIONS
What was the core of the issue – the image of the woman in the ad OR the placement of the ad in magazines and billboards?
A luxury fashion designer’s most recent ad campaign is striking a nerve! The ad features a woman in a sexual pose wearing only a diamond necklace. The ad campaign was placed in women’s fashion magazines and on billboards. The ad received only three complaints from the magazine but hundreds from the billboards, citing offensive, degrading to women and unsuitable for a public space. The fashion designer claimed the ad is a work of art, and not meant to be offensive to women.
QUESTIONS
What was the core of the issue – the image of the woman in the ad OR the placement of the ad in magazines and billboards?
The core issue is the placement. People can make whatever they want for art and many times it is nude. This doesn't make it suitable for all audiences.
ReplyDeleteIf the ad had simply been placed in women’s fashion magazines only, would the ad have received the amount of criticism as it did when placed on billboards?
ReplyDeleteThe paragraph indicates,less, only three complaints came from magazine ads.
ReplyDeleteThe three complaints from the magazine indicates that the ad is considered "art" when it appears in the appropriate medium (i.e. fashion magazine) but is considered offensive and indecent when placed in public spaces.
ReplyDeleteThe above scenario is a prime example of Target Advertising - today's topic!
ReplyDeleteWe are going to discuss today whether or not these targeted advertising techniques pose an ethical problem or if they are simply smart strategies.
What is Targeted Advertising?
ReplyDeletewhen an ad is targeted to a specific viewer.
ReplyDeleteYes. Targeted Advertising is advertising that targets specific groups of individuals in order to sell particular products.
ReplyDeleteTargeted Advertisements are placed in certain mediums so as to reach consumers based on various traits such as demographics, purchase history, or observed behaviors.
Can you give me an example of Targeted Advertising?
ReplyDeleteSports ads that show African American men wearing a shoe or playing basket ball. Most ads are targeted.
ReplyDeleteGood example. In more simplistic terms, targeting can encompass ads targeted to young men that may appear only in a men’s magazine OR an ad aimed at a mature audience will run late night so that children don’t see it.
ReplyDeleteHow is Targeted Advertising different from Stereotyping?
It isn't different. Both exclude other portions of the audience in order to cater or target a specific group of people. Target advertising can be interpreted as stereotypical.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs we just discussed, targeted advertising targets specific groups of individuals in order to sell particular products whereas stereotyping is a way to describe a person with collective rather then unique characteristics.
ReplyDeleteAds that stereotype do not cease to be ethically problematic simply because it is targeted to a particular group, i.e. sexist ad about women placed in a men’s magazine.
And as our Ethical Dilemma example showed us, the specific medium of an ad may also raise ethical problems. Ex: Billboard advertising that offends a particular ethic group will still cause ethical issues even if the billboard ad is meant for one particular target group.
What ethical problems may arise with the use of Targeted Advertising?
ReplyDeleteCorrene, are you there?!
ReplyDeleteCorrene, can you repost your answer? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThey may get interpreted as stereotypical or hold content that isn't suitable for other audiences.
ReplyDeleteCorrene, are you back online?
ReplyDeleteIts back! are u still there
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Target advertising may create ethical problems, i.e. targeting of children who are not capable of making informed purchase decisions OR young women who may be adversely affected by thin ideals.
Let’s read case study 7A from your ethics textbook, “Fictomercial Requires a Read between the Lines”. It's a short case study, page 85.
ReplyDeleteOnce you have finished reading this case study, give me an “I’m back!”
I apologize I do not have my ad ethics book with me right now.
ReplyDeletePlease have your textbook with you for these online classes. These classes are to be treated exactly like our on-campus classes.
ReplyDeleteOkay, skipping ahead slightly...
ReplyDeleteAs advertising students, we know that pervasive advertising trends such as ambient and 360-degree ad strategies surround us constantly, i.e. billboard ads, bus shelter ads, toilet door ads, etc.
360-Degree Advertising is similar to integrated communications (IMC) that prompts the advertiser to surround consumers with advertising messages employing a variety of mediusm. We will look at a great example of 360-degree adv. on page 89 of our textbook on Thursday.
Ambient Advertising, on the other hand, are ads in public places. These are often viewed as intruisive.
- Example: Cars, bicycles, taxis and buses have become moving commercials; ads appear on store floors, at gas pumps, in washrooms stalls, on elevator walls, park benches, telephones, fruit and even pressed into the sand on beaches, etc.
Is anything wrong with advertiser’s need to be creative about targeted advertising that doesn’t look, feel, smell or taste like generic advertising strategies?
ReplyDeleteCorrene, are you there?
ReplyDeleteNo, this is necessary to engage the modern savvy consumers.
ReplyDeleteCan you elaborate, possibly citing an example of something you've seen or experienced that is targeted to a specific audience yet still is highly creative (i.e. utilizing ambient or 360-degree advertising)?
ReplyDeleteIve seen and advertisement that was on two mopeds driving down the street. they were pulling a lit up sign on Broadway.
ReplyDeleteWho was the ad for? Were they utilizing targeted ad techniques, or simply advertising to a mass audience?
ReplyDeleteit was for an opening for some company, I dont remember which. I wouldn't say it was very targeted because it was eye catching to all.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday, we will continue our discussion on Targeted Advertising. We will discuss whether or not certain places should be free from advertising and what responsibility the ad industry has in preserving certain spaces as ad-free.
ReplyDeleteETHICS HOMEWORK REMINDER
-Chapter 7 for Thursday, March 12th
-“Charlize Theron” case study for Thursday, March 12th
-Article Journaling answers on blog by Wednesday, March 11th at 12pm
-BRING YOUR TEXTBOOKS TO CLASS!!!