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The Case of Phillip Morris
Becoming Respectable
Phillip Morris attempting to
leverage its non-tobacco
credentials to make itself
look socially responsible
Should Phillip Morris be banned
from advertising its other products?
NO
Migration Path Encouraged By
Taxation and Tobacco Regulation
1950s
Tobacco
Socially
Acceptable
Phillip
Morris
Now
Not
acceptable
More to
other
products
Ban Will Thwart The
Migration Path
No Ban
Utilitarianism result (greater good for all)
Facilitates Kantian approach (companies
fullfilling their rational duties)
Marketing too sophisticated for
complete regulatory control
Marketing techniques move faster than
Regulation – British American Racing (F1 Team)
E.G. Viral Marketing
Regulation is not the answer… government
and community must demand ethical companies
Marketing too sophisticated for
complete regulatory control
Ethical Duties of the Marketer to
the Phillip Morris Customer
• Tobacco is an adult product based on
adult choice
• Duty to inform where it can reasonably
expect the consumer would not know the
consumption costs (cancer).
• Duty to market only to adults, not children
Code of Ethics?
• Arrow contends: : “Codes are not a
universal substitute for… taxes regulations
and legal remedies”.
• Game theory says the short-term
opportunist may cheat
• We say: Codes of Ethics are too rigid to
keep up with fluid and evolving community
standards
Green Marketing
• Promotion of products / services on the
basis that they do not harm, or are
beneficial to the environment
• E.g. Dolphin friendly tuna, unbleached
toilet paper, chemical free cleaners.
Green Marketing Can Work
• Where there is more than one players
• Where green credential is obvious and
people choose on this basis
• Can help “raise the bar”
Green Marketing May Not Work
• Where comparisons are difficult as
products are not co-located (e.g coffee
shop)
• Where there is no-one to check the claims
… who knows if Jo’s coffee bar is really
rehabilitating the rainforest area where the
coffee is grown?