In his article, Sut Jhally claims that advertising has many ethical implications for society, and it may be regarded as one of the crucial destructive forces of contemporary time (1). Overall, advertising includes multiple methods implemented in the commercial culture for the promotion of products, internationalization of business, and the development of consumerism. Although the author of the article finds many negative connotations of the commercial promotion, it is possible to say that the instruments and activities used in advertising are neutral in their nature, but the motivations of organizations in their professional performance may lack the consideration of potential negative impacts, and, as a result, advertising can provoke negative effects.
According to Jhally, commercial organizations perceive culture as “as simply an adjunct to the system of production and consumption” (2). It is possible to presume that the colonization of the cultures by advertising messages may deteriorate the traditional cultural values. While entering new markets, international organizations often use regional cultural elements in advertising. By using the cultural concepts, the marketers make a product more appealing to the members of local communities. But advertising is rather a part of the global commercial culture that imposes its own values of consumption and production on the society.
Advertising promotes consumerism by telling people that the purchase of a particular product can make them happy (Jhally 2). The dominant majority of the advertisements implicitly or explicitly communicates the idea that a purchase of a good or a service inevitably leads to satisfaction and improvement of life quality. It is possible to say that the exploitation of emotional and psychological fulfillment is merely commercial purposes is nonobjective and unethical. It creates the illusions that lead to inevitable frustration in the consumers. Thus, the organizations need to take the ethical aspects of advertising into account and address the social needs in an adequate way by creating customer value and the increase in product quality.
According to Jhally, by shifting the focus to the fulfillment of individual needs, advertising puts the collective needs to the margins of social attention (3). Individualism became prevalent over collectivism in most of the developed countries. It can be regarded as an intrinsic aspect of the modern culture that was developed through the process of globalization. Global integration facilitates the intercultural communication but, at the same time, increases the competition among individual members of the global society.
Advertising could take part in the expansion of individualism, but the focus on the individual needs is rather a natural consequence of the technological and informational advancement that took place in the 20th century. In this way, advertising is used as a mean for the development of commercialization and promotion of materialism. But advertising can also be used for the increase of public awareness in topical environmental and social issues. Even while advertising some commercial services, the organizations may address the vital social needs for the environmental sustainability or social inclusion, and it will help them to consider the collective interests and fulfill the corporate social responsibility.
The excess production and consumption provoke the unfolding of environmental crisis (Jhally 5). And it is an undeniable fact. Similarly to other adverse situations discussed in the paper, advertising merely serves as a method for the dissemination of information but the actual cause of the problem in based on the wrong motivation of the organizational leaders and their focusing on the commercial aspects of organizational operations rather than on the environmental ones. Nowadays, as the risk of the environmental crisis increases, the consideration of the social needs and compliance with the ecological principles of business conduct may be regarded as a competitive advantage in the market.
The corporate ecological policies may significantly raise public awareness and create value for the customers. Therefore, by considering the environmental principles in commercial operations and by addressing them in the advertising messages, the enterprises may increase customer attraction and, at the same time, act ethically.
Works Cited
Jhally, Sut 2008, Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse. Web.