Question

each day, reflect on the advertising you see around you. to what extent do you think that this advertising is making use of (or failing to make use of) consumer research? do you think that the advertising itself is violating some of the principles of ethical research?

Answer 1

1. I feel that advertisements are making use of consumer research to certain extent. Many advertisements are taken these days considering the emotions of the consumers. Research shows that there are six kinds of emotions which are used by companies these days to drive their consumers emotionally & make them to buy the product of the company.

There are six universal emotions that would include happiness, anger, disgust, sadness, fear & surprise. For example we can take happiness; happiness is the representation of youth, luxury, romance, playfulness etc. Which all can be seen in ads like coca cola & disgust can make people to feel bad about themselves & this is used in advertising for medications, diet etc. For example we can take the example of ads taken to make people realize that smoking is not good for health & also for selling products like green tea which plays an important role in the diet plan of a person who is obese.

Hence these kinds of emotions show that companies are still considering the feelings & emotions of their consumers by conducting a thorough research.

2. At times I feel that advertisements do violate the principles of ethical research. We see that there are few advertisements where it doesn’t contain any truth or fairness. For example we may see some advertisements that perform actions which would be dangerous for us & in advertisements it would be performed by people who are experienced in performing those kinds of stunts. It can happen in reality that some people may even go to the extent of attempting those actions that can danger their life. Hence advertisements can stop these kinds of risky actions & can be taken in a simple manner.

And also at times there may be exaggerated statements or images that would be made or shown which would not even be understood by the children. For example children may assume a toy helicopter to be fully assembled but in fact assembling the product is required. This interpretation of the law completely ignores the unethical ramifications of purely legal advertising, such as building brand loyalty in children before they even understand what a brand is, encouraging children to develop negative self images or getting children hooked on products that can impede social development. The best way to act ethically in this area is to advertise to parents, not children.