Everyone always jokes that advertising is a glorified version of lying. Ads are all deceptive, meant to confuse the common individual and persuade them to buy something they don’t need. Advertising is dishonest, people say, and is only used for companies to make a profit.
People also declare public relations a profession for liars. Since there aren’t really laws governing what PR professionals can say about their company, they just say anything, regardless of truth. PR revolves around lying to achieve a profit and is not worth investing in or learning about.
It is unfortunate society does not understand or appreciate the importance of these two professions. While there are many folks in the advertising and public relations industry who DO fit these stereotypes, a good majority abides by an ethical code.
Public Relations Ethical Code
Public relations professionals typically follow the ethical standard set by the Public Relations Society of America, or the PRSA, which is the largest organization of PR professionals in the United States. This code provides a series of ethical laws under the themes of advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty and fairness. It provides PR professionals with direction and consistency. However, since much of what PR professionals do is write or speak about their company, protection comes from the right to free speech. PRSA provides a series of guidelines for how to act ethically in certain situations, such as when to avoid conflict of interest and how to safeguard confidences (The PRSA Member Code of Ethics).
Advertising Ethical Code
Specific laws and regulations, on the other hand, govern advertising. There are a variety of FTC laws about how much truth is required in an ad and how to correctly disclose information about supporting a product or company. Advertising does have a code of ethics through the American Advertising Federation, or AAF, which is run in partnership with the University of Missouri School of Journalism and Reynolds Journalism Institute. There are nine principles the AAF asks its members and all advertising professionals to follow. These are similar to the PRSA code of ethics and have a mission to “always do what is right for the consumer, which in turn is right for the business as well (The Principles and Practices for Advertising Ethics).”
The Truth
The fact there are ethical codes for advertising and public relations professionals proves not all people involved in these professions are liars. Obviously, someone, somewhere, had enough of a moral compass to go through the process of creating an ethical code to abide by.
The problem is within the actual society members themselves. Yes, advertising can be deceiving. I even went into a store today called H&M, searching for the clothing items marked “50% off” which were promoted outside the store, only to discover not all items were truly 50 percent off. However, I put it upon myself to search for the truth and discovered it on my on. Advertisers will not always give you the answers; sometimes, they must be searched for. This is what frustrates people. We live in a world that craves everything right now. Whenever a sign or promotion or ad does not give them exactly what they want when they want it, the ad becomes a ‘lie.’ This ‘lie’ then permeates the mind of the consumer and they lose trust for the company or product, and thus the actual advertiser.
This is not fair.
Take my H&M example. Items WERE 50 percent off inside the store, just not the particular items close to the sign. It could be argued it was best for me as a consumer to discover the truth on my own so I could grow as an intelligent consumer. It could even be argued just placing the sign close to the clothing items (although not directly next to it) is good for me as a consumer because it makes me only purchase something I REALLY want, not just something cheap. The problem was not the actual advertisement but the miscommunication between the store placement of the advertisement and the consumer.
Society looks to blame other people for their issues. Taking responsibility is something we have conditioned out of our children and now this is illuminated in present day adults (myself included) and how we blame outside circumstances for our misfortune. It is not the public relations or advertising professionals fault that you did not receive the expected pleasure of the product or company because their job is NOT to provide the experience, but to tell you the experience is possible. The item I desired was not 50 percent off, but another item was. The experience of a bargain was possible for someone, just not for me. You know what though? That is absolutely okay.
Think about all the ads you come in contact with on a daily basis: McDonalds, Nike, Starbucks, Apple and even little places like Denton Square Donuts and Jupiter House. All these advertisements and promotions are trying to convince you there is an experience waiting for you. However, you must consider that you are not always the “you” the experience is waiting for. The world, as hard as this may be to hear, does not always revolve around YOU as a consumer. Sometimes, the “you” is meant for someone else. The cliché “you can’t please everyone” definitely pertains to advertising and public relations.
The moral of the story is this (ha! A pun): advertising and public relations professionals are not all liars. Some are liars and give us a bad reputation however many times, those who perceive these professionals as liars are just a little wounded they did not receive their desired experience from a particular product.
Check out these ethical codes for more information about how public relations and advertising professionals keep themselves in check -
PRSA Member Code of Ethics: http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/
American Advertising Federation Ethics: http://www.aaf.org/images/public/aaf_content/images/ad%20ethics/IAE_Principles_Practices.pdf
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