December 16th, 2010

TRM 409.01 BUSINESS ETHICS Assignment III: ETHICAL ADVERTISMENT

Instructor: Perran Akan Student: Nee Roman Student ID: 2006104603

Suggest a list of standards to be used in evaluating whether an advertisement can be judged as ethical or not. Be as specific and complete in your standards as possible. Then, carefully examine two or more advertisements and assess the extent to which they meet what you would consider adequate ethical standards for advertising.

I read the Reklam zdenetim Kurulu Codes of Advertising Application. In a way, I summarize and create my list of standards. 1. All advertisements should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. 2. The titles, subtitles used in all advertisings should be written in a legible font size , and advertisement company making sure that consumers are able to read it fully. 3. Advertisements should respect human dignity and should not incite or condone any form of discrimination, including that based upon race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. 4. For the children and young people special care should be taken in advertisements. They can give different meanings to advertisements and easily affected by them. 5. Social values of the culture should be taken into consideration. The first example comes from the automobile industry. Everyday I watch this advertisement and try to understand about it. What is this? And how can it be on the TV? TOYOTA CAR ADVERTISEMENT Birinci ocuk: kinci ocuk: nc ocuk: Olum var ya, benim babam Dnyann en akll adam... Ne sorsan bilir! Olum, benim babam var ya, Dnyann en yakkl adam... Tpk ben! Benim babam var ya, Dnyann en gl adam. sterse hepinizi dver.

Drdnc ocuk: Benim babam Totoya gibi Adam TOYOTA, TOYOTA IKARIM SENLE HER YOLA!!! TOYATA!!!

In 2009, according to TUIK last statistics for the population and automobiles, In Turkey there are 71.517.100 people and 6.872.598 registered automobiles. Our GDP per capita is 10.472$ and Turkey consumes the most expensive gasoline in the world. But everyday, I see this advertisement. I think in advertisements there should be special care for children. In this advertisement, 4 boys are comparing their fathers in terms of power, beauty, cleverness and lastly the money. Having a car is not one of the physical needs but it is one of the psychic needs. On the other hand in this advertisement, oppose of the emotional values, there is a materialistic approach. The last boy says my father is like the Toyota. The product of the advertisement is not suitable for the children but make them to insist on buying the special product. What about our social values? Toyota advertisement suggests that possession of product will give a child or physical, psychological or social advantages over other children who do not possess the product. Also it includes direct appeal to children to persuade their fathers to buy the product for them. Apart from the Toyota what about the childrens family, who can not afford even to buy a car and the childs psychological position in his/her social life. It is also a masculine advertisement. There are four boys talking in the advertisement and one girl is on the back and she is silent. Power, beauty, intelligence, money of fathers is the issues. What about the mothers? Are not they able to drive a car? I believe Turkeys bread winner image of men is changing and I found this advertisement very irritating. I feel that there is gender discrimination and they use only a girl to reduce it on the surface. The second example is again from automobile industry. RENAULT CAR ADVERTISEMENT KIZ OCUK: BABA: KIZ OCUK: Baba kapy aamyorum! Tekrar dene! Mersi! Okuldan sonra grrz! Ltfen ge kalma!

RENAULT FLUENCE ONUNLA TM YOLCULUKLAR BIRINCI SINIF!

Before one week ago, my brother who is 12 years old had the same conversation with me. I was total shocked, because I did not watch this advertisement. A girl lies to his father, says she could not open the door, in that time her friends are around the car, father opens door and her friends think that she has a driver! Where are our traditional values? In our culture, we have respect for elder ones but now there is no respect. Because of the advertisements destroys it. Again children are used but fortunately in that advertisement we see a girl not a boy. It is better than the Toyota but again it is not ethical to use children, impose them use their parents as a means. Third example is from fast food sector. BURGER KING ESRA-CEYDA ADVERTISMENT In this advertisement, two sisters come to Burger King. They talk in the same time, they behave like an idiots. Actually the blonde one behaves in a stupid way. At the end of the advertisement, a voice says that the all world understand the prices of Burger King is affordable In an implied meaning, it imposes even the blonde women understand it. It is very humiliating for the blonde women. It is not ethical the blonde women as a stupid object. It uses gender discrimination. References: http://www.rok.org.tr/eng/codes.asp?id=4 http://www.universitehaber.com/article.php?article_id=6130 http://www.timsah.com/Esra-Ceyda-Kardesler-Burger-King-Reklami/ZTMddKAy_Aa http://www.timsah.com/Toyota-Gibi-Adam/e0drr6hannK http://www.vindir.org/baba-kapiyi-acamiyorum-219102.html