Negatively Ethical Aspects of Advertising

【Abstract】This paper focuses on the negatively ethical aspects of advertising and emphasizes that the government should take actions to regulate the advertisements that are not ethical. The author summarizes different findings from different researchers aroundthe world and draws the conclusions. The government should have strict restrictions on the unethical types of advertising. First， junk food advertising harms childrens health and even shortens their lives. Second， alcohol advertising can mislead teenagers sothat they will misbehave.

【Key words】Advertising; Negatively ethical effects; Children health Balanced diet; Underage drinking; Regulated by government

【作者簡介】张利（1997-），女，汉族，安徽阜阳人，辽宁师范大学国际商学院，研究方向：国际商务。

Nowadays， more and more researchers are concerned about the ethical aspects of advertising and have carried out a lot of research throughout the world. According to Tom Warshawski and Mary Lewis， Canada proposed a ban on the advertising of food and beverage to Canadian children under 13， and “other countries， like the United Kingdom， have similar restrictions on food and beverage advertising to children up to 16.” The question is why do countries decide to set a strict regulation on food advertising？

M. Potvin Kent and A. Wanless point out that “childhood obesity” （558） is associated with food advertising targeted at children， and the World Health Organization has recently recommended “the reduction of food and beverage marketing directed at children that is high in sugar， fat and sodium in order to help reduce the burden of obesity worldwide” （558）. In addition， television plays a significant role in “producing social norms and personal convictions regarding physical appearance， suitable eating conduct and self-concept” （Frechette 183）. According to the Oxford English Dictionary， “self-concept” is defined as “a belief a person has about himself or herself or how a person views himself or herself.” Television advertisements can guide childrens preference for good conduct and personal belief， so sometimes television advertisements which are aimed at earning as much money as possible will make children practice unhealthy behaviors. Contradicting these arguments， doctors and the government believe that advertising healthy food can improve childrens eating conduct. The research of Hojoon Choi and Jeffrey K. Springston reveals that the U.S. government has encouraged food companies to produce healthy food by “allowing health and nutrition-related （HNR） claims on food advertising” （1047）.

Firstly， junk food advertising is harmful to childrens health and even makes their lives shorter. According to a report entitled “The Kids Are Not Alright，”“[n]inety per cent of the foods and drinks marketed on TV are high in salt， fat or sugar”（Cross）. Brain Cross also notes that children “watch two hours of TV a day on average and spend almost eight hours in front of screens，” and “the obesity rate continues to skyrocket - to triple the rate in 1979” in Canada. Based on the Oxford English Dictionary， “skyrocket” means increasing abruptly or rapidly or rising dramatically. In other words， children who spend much time in front of screens are easily attracted by junk food that looks very delicious， so they will buy and eat junk food which is rich in fat， salt， or sugar but poor in vitamins and mineral substances. They do not have a balanced diet， and their diets become more and more unhealthy. Gradually， their health conditions become worse， and they will easily suffer from being overweight or obese.

Secondly， advertisements of alcohol can mislead people， especially young people， so they will form bad habits and misbehave themselves by underage drinking. At the same time， commercial advertising often tries to maximize the products benefits to attract people and make money even though the products do not have many benefits， just like alcohol. According to Jean Kilbourne， who is a Doctor of Education from Boston University， the Chair of the Council on Alcohol Policy， and is on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Alcoholism， alcohol is “one of the most heavily advertised products in the United States，” and the alcohol industry “generates more than $65 billion a year in revenue and spends more than $1 billion a year on advertising” （13）. Alcohol is heavily advertised， and a lot of people become the advertisers targets. Unfortunately， young people are one of “the primary targets of the advertisers” （13）. Many alcohol advertisements involve very exciting themes like parties that are very attractive to young people. Moreover， many young people are not mature enough and are quite easily influenced by these attractive advertisements. As a result， many of them are very willing to try drinking alcohol and will try their best to access it. For example， some young people will buy alcohol secretly and drink it. Some of them may drink alcohol which they get from their parents without their parents permission.

However， in his article entitled “DTC Advertisings Benefits Far Outweigh Its Imperfections，” Pat Kelly discusses that direct-to-consumer （DTC） advertising is more beneficial to consumers by comparing DTC advertisings risks and its benefits and should be greatly promoted. Kelly believes that DTC advertising encourages people to be more interested in their own health care and also encourages “companies to make their health communications for consumers as understandable as possible” （246）. Firstly， Kelly thinks that “DTC advertising not only informs consumers， it motivates them to contact their doctors， engage in thoughtful dialogue about health concerns， and receive appropriate treatment” （247）. In other words， he thinks that DTC advertising serves as a “catalyst” （Kelly 246） encouraging people to consult their doctors and to learn more about their health care. Moreover， he mentions a view confirmed by consumer and physician surveys and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration （FDA） that “once a patient has received a prescription for drug treatment， continued exposure to DTC advertising improves compliance with treatment regimens” （Kelly 247）. By this， he means that people who have been offered some prescription drugs are more likely to follow the doctors instructions if they are continuously exposed to DTC advertising.

I agree with Pat Kelly when he says that people can learn more about their health care by DTC advertising. Through a lot of available health information， some people can play a more active role in dealing with their treatment. However， I believe that the negative effects of DTC advertising outweigh its potential benefits， so DTC advertising should be greatly regulated by the government. Firstly， many consumers are easily misled by DTC advertising. According to Peter Lurie， “50% believed that DTC advertisements had to be pre-approved by the government， and 43% thought that only ‘completely safe drugs were allowed to be advertised （neither is true）” （446） in one survey. In other words， many consumers are misled by DTC advertising and buy the advertised drug anyways. Additionally， many consumers are not experts or do not know enough about their health conditions， so many of them are easily influenced by DTC advertising. Secondly， many doctors are pressured to prescribe certain drugs for patients at their requests because of DTC advertising. After all， doctors work for the patients， so doctors should listen to what the patients requests are. However， some patients are misled by DTC advertising， so what they request will probably contribute to unnecessary prescriptions or “inappropriate medications” （Kelly 247） prescribed by the doctors. Therefore， DTC advertising can lead “doctors to write unnecessary prescriptions” （Kelly 246）.

In conclusion， I believe that advertising is not ethical in many aspects and should be regulated greatly by the government. Firstly， junk food advertising harms childrens health and even shortens their lives because they are attracted by junk food advertising and consume much junk food that is high in fat， sugar and salt. Secondly， some advertisements， like alcohol advertisements， can mislead young people and make them misbehave. In addition， DTC advertising can mislead many consumers and also make many doctors feel pressured to prescribe drugs for their patients. At the same time， some DTC advertisements targeted at teenagers are not ethical. For people， especially young people， we want them to be healthy and to develop good habits instead of many bad habits， like eating much junk food and drinking alcohol. Unfortunately， advertisements related to those bad habits are so many and attractive that a lot of young people cannot avoid them. Therefore， the government should take actions to regulate the advertisements that are not ethical.

References：

[1]Babor， Thomas， and Jonathan Noel. Joe Camel in a Bottle： Alcohol Companies Fail to Follow their Own[D]. University Wire， 07 Feb，2017.

[2]Calfee， John E. How Advertising Informs to Our Benefit[J]. Consumers Research Magazine，vol.81， no. 4， Apr.1998， p.13.

[3]Choi， Hojoon， and Jeffrey K. Springston. "How to Use Health and Nutrition–Related Claims Correctly on Food Advertising： Comparison of Benefit-Seeking， Risk-Avoidance， and Taste Appeals on Different Food Categories[J]. Journal of Health Communication，vol. 19， no. 9， Sept，2014：1047-1063.

[4]Cross， Brian. Taking Aim at Junk Food Ads[J]. Windsor Star， 01 Feb. 2017：A.6.