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Chapter 3
Ethics in Marketing Communication
Peggy Simcic Brønn
Main Schools of Thought
Duties
Goodness or badness is evident in the act
itself.
Example: Lying is bad in itself.
Consequences
Goodness or badness is evident in the
consequences of the proposed act.
Example: A deliberate falsehood is only bad if it
leads to bad consequences.
Peggy Simcic Brønn
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Duty-based ethics
Actions possess moral worth only when we
do our duty for its own sake, not because of
its consequences
Peggy Simcic Brønn
Marketing Communications as an activity
is ethically neutral -- neither good nor
bad.
The ethical acceptability of a particular
marketing communications campaign will
depend on the interaction between:
The design and
other choices made
by the company
The relevant
features of the
campaign’s context
Peggy Simcic Brønn
Main Ethical Issues in
Marketing Communications
Truth Telling
misrepresentation and puffery
importance of context: complex products
relational circumstances
Vulnerable Groups
Privacy
Taste and Decency
Hospitality, incentives, inducements, etc.
Sales management implications
Peggy Simcic Brønn