Catherine Paneral
Jour 4470
February 24, 2012
Blog Two—Classical ethical theories vs. modern
practice of advertising
Legal? Yes. Ethical? No.
Advertising
and ethics are like oil and water. You can try mixing them together, but they
will always separate. One of the biggest unethical offenders is weight loss
advertising.
There
are numerous weight loss supplements on the market that all promote the same
thing, lose weight fast. The commercials convince you that all you have to do
is pop one of these pills and the weight will just fall of. But then when you
read the microscopic, fine print, you realize the label says results may vary or weight loss results are combined with diet and exercise.
Oh, how convenient. I thought I could just take this pill and the pounds would
just fall off. Wrong.
Whatever
happened to “What Would Jesus Do?” Do advertisers think, “Oh yes, Jesus would
want me to tell these people that my product will help them get high school
skinny again.” You can’t tell someone only half of what they need to do to lose
weight. Especially when it is the easy half you are telling them.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “advertising
must be truthful and non-deceptive… advertisers must have evidence to back up
their claims… and advertisements cannot be unfair.” Disclosure
and disclaimer statements are required if the advertisement implies misleading
claims. The statements are supposed to “give qualifying information so the
claim is not misunderstood.” You are required to tell the truth and clearly
label the advertisement and product so the intent cannot be mistaken. Funny
though how the disclaimers are always read quickly on television or typed in
the tiny fine print at the bottom of the advertisement.
Let’s
review a few ethical questions that we discussed in our ethics class about what
advertisers should ask themselves when preparing to promote or advertise a
product, in this case it is a weight loss supplement.
o
Are you hyping something beyond reality?
o
Um, yeah.
“Results may vary.” "This
will help with weight loss when used in conjunction with a healthy diet and
exercise". The advertisers know that this product is not going to
work unless other actions are involved, but they aren’t worried about that.
They just need customers to take the bait. And they will.
o
Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig love to
advertise how you can “eat whatever you want and still lose weight.” People
have reported the tens of hundreds of pounds that have been shed, 20…50…100. However,
in the tiny print you can see “results not typical.” So what that tells me is
this doesn’t always happen. Please show me what typical results would look
like.
o
Are you promoting a product that could be
harmful?
o
In 2009, Hydroxycut
issued a recall on 14 products worldwide after reports of liver failure, jaundice, seizures and cardiovascular problems were
reported to the FDA. One woman said “There
were times that I had to reduce my daily dosage because it made my heart race
so bad and I felt dizzy and nauseous.”
o
Are you perpetuating negative stereotypes for
the purpose of selling something?
o
If you’re not skinny, you’re fat. What
happened to being a normal, healthy weight? Weight loss advertisement have us
convinced that if we don’t look like the people on TV then we are unattractive
which then makes us feel worthless which then convinces us to by this magical
get skinny pill and it keeps them in business.
o
If you advertise or market something that
takes advantage of people, when (if ever) is that justified?
o
Never. This form of advertisement is
absolutely taking advantage of people. I don’t see how it can be justified at
all. The manufactures are making a profit off of something that says “Individuals used this
product with
diet and exercise and have been remunerated. All groups followed a
calorie-reduced diet.” So, according to the law, they did what they are
required to do. They told us what is required to lose weight. But in all
honesty, they know most of the people are not going to do that. They will rely
on the supplement to do all the work. People are getting taken advantage of but
don’t even realize it.
Advertisements
push the rules and regulations to their limits daily. And as long as they can
get away with just enough, they will.
They will do their part in following the FTC laws, but follow a code of
ethics? Well, that’s a-whole-nother story.
