Ethics in Advertising

I am sympathetic to the beliefs of the public that advertising's persuasive capabilities are unfair to some young or under educated portions of the population. I also feel that from the perspective of the advertiser these people are not being "forced" to buy a product that they didn't already have some need for.

Advertising to children is going to happen whether or not it comes directly from advertising agencies. Children have impressionable, malleable minds. Children's minds are influenced not only by advertisers but instead largely through peer groups. Children are more likely to want something to fit in with friends, in their quest for acceptance, than to form their own opinion based on something they saw on television.

I believe that alcohol and cigarettes have a "whatever it takes" philosophy to marketing. Beer companies such as Bud Lite and Miller Lite employ young, 20 something, attractive girls to push free beer and a glamorous lifestyle primarily to young people and those easily influenced. I believe that the most cut throat in the cigarette industry is Camel. Camel is consistently trying to attract new smokers and young smokers. The first example of the cut-throat attitude of the Camel corporation came with the onset of Camel Cash in the 80s. This was promoted to youth, even in the school setting and told kids that if they smoked "x" packs of Camels they could have a Joe Cool T-shirt. The Joe Cool Camel was also a dirty advertising ploy, causing kids to identify with a cartoon character, much like those they had seen in their youth, except now it was pushing cancer causing chemicals on them. Camel has recently come out with flavor changing cigarettes, and i recently received a very expensive looking ad in the mail which changed the cigarette's flavors with movement. The ad looked too nice to throw away. This is where I believe advertising may have gone too far.