TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (75Th, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 5-8, 1992)
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 349 618 CS 507 965 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (75th, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 5-8, 1992). Part XI: Advertising. INSTITUTION Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. PUB DATE Aug 92 NOTE 462p.; For other sections of these proceedings, see CS 507 955-970. For 1991 Proceedings, see ED 340 045. PUB TYPE Collected Works Conference Proceedings (021) Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC19 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Advertising; Broadcast Industry; Comparative Analysis; Content Analysis; Credibility; Ethics; Foreign Countries; *Mass Media Role; Media Research; Newspapers; Photographs; Research Methodology; Sex Role; Visual Stimuli IDENTIFIERS Advertising Education; Advertising Effectiveness; African Americans; Asia; Condoms; New England; Transnational Corporations ABSTRACT The Advertising section of the proceedings contains the following 16 papers: "Ethics of Advertising Practitioners: An Explanation Based on a Classical Theoretical Framework" (Cornelius B. Pratt and E. Lincoln James); "Sex Roles in Frightening Film Newspaper Advertisements: An Overview of the Past 50 Years" (Melissa M. Spirek); "Is Seeing Believing Where Silver and Silicon Meet? A Matter of Credibility in Advertising and News Photography Contexts" (Danal W. Terry and Michael H. McBride); "A Comparative Analysis of the Use of Corporate Advertising in the United States and Japan" (Douglas M. McLeod and Motoko Kunita); "Using the FCB Grid to Write Advertising Strategy" (Johan C. Yssel and Mark W. Walchle); "Broadcast Condom Advertising: The Cultural Hypocrisy of Network Self-Regulation" (Randy Jacobs); "A New Framework for the Study of Advertising Creative Appeals" (Mark Secrist); "An Analysis of the Growth of Transnational Advertising Agencies in Five Asian Countries: 1970-1990" (Kwangmi Ko Kim and Katherine Toland Frith); "Measuring Media Image: Expectations, Perceptions, and Attitudes of Local Retail Advertisers" (Jana Frederick-Collins); "Television News and Ads as Sources of Issue Information--Another Piece for the Puzzle Board" (Xinshu Zhao and others); "An Analysis of Competition for Listeners and Advertisers between New England Areas of Dominant Influence." (Carolyn Boulger Miller): "American and Japanese Youth as Consumers: Similarities and Differences" (Jyotika Ramaprasad and others); "In Their Own Words: Advertisers and the Origins of the African- American Consumer Market" (Dwight E. Brooks); "An interpretive S'zudy of Visual Cues in Advertising" (Sandra Moriarty and Shay Sayre); "The Advertising Content of African-American Newspapers" (Stephen Lacy and 1.0iyn anat.n Aavercising Processing Morsel: An Empirical Investigation of the Decomposability of Attitude toward the Ad and Attitude toward the Brand" (Kok Yoon and Bonnie Reece).(RS) PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION (75th, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 5-8, 1992). Part XI: Advertising. "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Ohice of Educational Researchand improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERICI SieeT'hisdocument has been reproduced received from the person or prosnizattonas originating it. 0 Minor changes have been madeto imprOve rePrOduction Quality TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER Points of view or OpnionS statedin this docu- (ERIC)." ment do not ncesaarily represent official OERI position or policy BEST COPY WILABLE ADVERTISING DIVISION Ethics of Advertising Practitioners: An Explanation Based on a Classical Theoretical Framework Cornelius B. Pratt and E. Lincoln James Department of Advertising Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212 (517) 353-3215 and (517) 353-3858 E-mail: Cornelis @ MSU.BITNET E-mail: Eustace.James @ MSU.BITNET Presented to the Advertising Division, 75th annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Montreal, Canada, August 5-8, 1992 Ethics of Advertising Practitioners: An Explanation Based on a a Classical Theoretical Framework ABSTRACT This study examines the perceptions of four ethics scenarios and the relationships between such perceptions and demographic characteristics among 460 members of the American Advertising Federation. It indicates three major findings. First, in general, sample members' perceptions of four ethics scenarios do not correspond with a strong sense of ethics. Second, for the most part, demographic variables have minor significant effects on evaluations of the ethics scenarios. Finally, sample members do not have a strong preference for deontological (or nonconsequentialist) ethics. A classical theoretical framework of teleological and nonconsequentialist ethics is used to explain the implications of these results for advertising practitioners. Suggestions for research are offered. Ethics of Advertising Practitioners: An Explanation Based on a a Classical Theoretical Framework Invariably, the advertising industry is a bull's-eye for public criticism. A reason for this is that advertising managers and their peers in other areas of promotion management, especially those in public relations and sales promotion, confront more ethical problems, on the average, than managers in other organizational subsystems. Because of the "trusted-counselor" and boundary roles of the promotional manager, she or he is thrust into the vortex of organizational decision making. In response to some of the most common criticisms of advertising, Ekelund and Saurman argue that, from a ma, ietwide perspective, (1) advertising is consistent with a competitive environment and is, indeed, integral to the process of competition as a means for entry into markets, as a vehicle for price reduction, and as a benefit to the consumer; and (2) professional codes of ethics and governmental regulations do not improve consumer welfare and may, indeed, impair it.1 Similarly, Kirkpatrick argues that social criticisms and the regulation of advertising are deeper manifestations of hostility toward capitalism and egoism and are infringements on consumers' and advertisers' rights.2 These arguments do not diminish concerns that the industry could sometimes be unfair or deceptive to the consumer, and that the ethics of advertisers leaves much to be desired. t.; 2 This study, therefore, examines one area of advertising decision making vis-à-vis ethics: the self-reported ethics of sample members of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), as measured by their evaluation of four ethics scenarios. Additionally, this present study extends previous work3 that links ethical theory to organizational behavior by analyzing the self-reported ethics of advertising practitioners. Fritzsche and Becker underscore the importance of establishing such a link: Little effort has been made to try to link ethical theory to management behavior. This connection could be especially helpful in understanding the values held by managers as well as in providing a basis for altering behavior in a more ethical direction if such a change is deemed to be in the best interests of society.4 Further, this approach is important because "[ethical] theories are like windows onto the world of moral reasoning. They are meant to provide vantage points from which important ethical decisionscan be considered."5 Therefore,the results of this study arepresented within a framework of five classical ethical theories. Theoretical Framework Five classical moraltheories have potential relevance to the ethics of advertisingpractitioners. These are Aristotle's golden mean ("moral virtue is appropriate location between two extremes"); Kant's categorical imperative ("act on that maxim which you will to become a universal law"); Mill's principle of utility ("seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number"); Rawls's veil of ignorance ("justice emerges when negotiating 3 ends ("love thy neighbor as yourself"). Aristotle's theory of the golden mean, a virtue-based ethics, strikes a moral balance between two extremes, one indicating excess, the other deficiency. The mean, in this context, is not a statistical mean but a willingness on the part of the decision maker to exercise moderation or temperance--a virtue. Such a mean relates to(the individual's particular situation, her or his status, strengths and weaknesses.6 Deontological ethics is a duty-based, nonconsequentialist theory that asserts that certain human actions are inherently right or wrong. For example, it is always wrong to steal, lie or break a promise; it is our moral duty to tell the truth and to keep our promises regardless of the consequences. Utilitarian ethics, a form of teleological ethics, was enunciated by John Stuart Mill as that which seeks "the greatest happiness for the greatest number." To assess the "greatest good," a person or organization performs a cost-benefit analysis of an action. If the action would result in the good of the majority, that is, if its benefits for the "greatest number" outweigh its costs, then the act is ethically right. Rawis's veil of ignorance, a neo-Kantian theory of justice, governs the assignment of rights and duties and regulates the distribution of social and economic advantages.?People, he argued, "have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others."8 Finally, Judeo-Christian morality is an altruistic tradition 4 that is being popularized in the West