the trends in advertising are changing over time. The competition is going tough day by day.

So
marketers are trying to find out more effective ways to reach the target audience. But if you notice
carefully you will understand that the changes have not occurred suddenly.There is a continuous
growth in advertising trends with the passing time.While some old trends have been modified some
new trends have evolved.

So let's take a look at the advertising trends of this year.

The old advertising trends indicate a very simple equation i.e. more people=more sale.In the previous
years the marketers were concerned about reaching more target audience. According to the market
trend of the earlier days the marketers equate more customers with more business.But this had been
an outdated policy for 2009.

As the advertising trend reports of 2009 show marketers are concentrating on customer satisfaction
these days.Instead of attracting more customers they are interested in retaining their existing
customers.This differs from the earlier market trends.The marketers are working hard to offer better
customer satisfaction.They are focusing on the niche because being focused can earn them better
return on investment.

Marketers are no more concentrating on a single medium.They are exploring various avenues to reach
their target market. Online marketing is gaining more popularity day by day.Social networks as well as
social media promotion are getting more prominence.In fact the marketers are looking for more
personalized ways to reach the consumers.They have started preferring one to one solution instead of
the same solution for all.

In addition to this the advertising trends of 2009 you will see more emphasis on quality than on
quantity.Rather than mass production the salespersons will focus on quality production because
people are becoming more conscious about what they buy. If the quality is not good they will never
buy it again.

This is the reason that even the smallest company is trying to develop brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is
not only indicated through repeat purchase.If a marketer can successfully develop brand loyalty the
customers are sure to do word-of-mouth promotion for that company.They will even be less sensitive
towards price change if they know that the money is worth the product.So marketers are putting a lot
of effort to reduce the cost per customer.

Another interesting trend you can notice this year is green marketing.It has gained popularity in 2008
and it will hold even a stronger position this year.More and more companies are investing in green
marketing because this is no more a fancy trend.People have started believing in it.So the companies
are trying to produce environment friendly product or offer environment friendly services.

The business owners have realized the necessity of taking action to save the earth and performing
their social responsibility.Therefore most of the companies are running Go Green campaign.This has
affected all the areas of the market but specially food,skin care products,cars,baby products etc.

According to the advertising trend reports marketers are not only trying to satisfy the customers with
quality products or concentrating on their sale but at the same time playing a great role to save the
environment.
(

Promotional Gifts: the New Trend of Advertisement

The role of promotional products is instrumental in the business fraternity to achieve the acme of
success. Be it a small, medium or large business organization; advertisement of its products and
services is inevitable to create awareness among consumers and increase sale. Now all businesses
want to reach people promptly and convey messages directly to the targeted group. As a result,
promotional gifts have been gaining popularity by bridging the gap between businesses and existing
and prospective consumers. In fact, promotional gifts play exactly the same role as advertising or
marketing, which is to promote a product or service of an organization. But in this case, the
investment is minimal and the return on investment is quite high.

Generally, every businessman wants to earn huge profit in this customer-centric environment and
looks for a method to reach the targeted consumers promptly. In such a situation, the traditional
mode of advertisements i.e. print and electronic media is in vain to leave lasting impression in the
minds of existing and budding consumers. Since such forms of advertisements provide momentary
information to consumers that can easily fade away from their minds after certain intervals.
Consequently, the demand for promotional gifts is felt, allowing businessmen and entrepreneurs to
disseminate text messages and logos in the entire market. However, as promotional gifts are
generated in synchronize with the daily requirement of human life; the conveyed messages printed on
the external surface of products remind the targeted audience about your brand, product or service
every time they use. Indeed, the promotional gift you distribute to the targeted audience acts as a
mediator to establish a long-term relationship with your clients.

It is pertinent to note that manufacturers have developed promotional gifts that suit the requirement
of every occasion. You can find promotional gifts for Christmas, conferences, Easter, events,
exhibitions, incentives, roadshows, tradeshows, weddings, to name a few. It is recommended to
choose the occasion first and thereafter distribute promotional gifts in order to entice new and existing
customers

Shoes New Trends Of 2010

The shoes new trends are much different from the previous trends with strictness of forms and colors
and seems to be much more ‘practical’.

2010 shoes new trend, no more strange forms, motley palette and huge elements. Now couturiers
choose quality, simplicity and style.

Of course some fashion designers presented their extravagant lines of footwear as well, but in the
time of economic decline it looks defiant.Try to choose easy-to-wear styles. Currently timeless
footwear is top trendy. So ugg classic cardy boots may be a good choice for you.

The color palette looks dark, nearly mystic Near-black and black and colors that go between midnight
blue, asphalt, dark green, petrol, dark violet and deep reds display themselves from an inconceivable
side.Neutral skin and leather tones set confrontations to this extraordinary darkness with a difference
of shades from beige to grey to taupe.Red and berry shades bring life into the good mood. Medium
brown tones, particularly the trend color cognac, will bring new thrust into the footwear fashion.

The trend heels - The basic variations of trendy heels for Fall 2009-Winter 2010 are 6-inch stilettos,
stable square or trapezoid heel of different height, the higher the better. The main trend for Shoes Fall
2009-Winter 2010 are ankle boots and Over-The-Knee boots, such as the ugg classic tall boots.

2010 classic ugg boots also release some new fashion styles boots. if you want to see more , you
should continue to focus on our site

Knowing The New Trends In Information Technology

The world of information technology

is a new but very necessary field which has been implemented in thousands of businesses across the
world. As with any type of technology, there are always changes and improvements. It is just like
looking at the computers that were used in the 80s compared to today. This will review the trends in
information technology.

The first type of technology that will be explained is semiconductor technology. This is the use of
semiconductor microchips is being used in increasing use. Technology is being spread to smaller
devices which has been used actually by the car industry since the 70s. It has become more powerful
yet cheaper which is why it is very marketable which is why businesses have implemented it much
more.

Examples of the uses of these microchips with microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) being added to
ink jet printers. They are also being put into hard disk drive heads and accelerometers which deploy
car airbags.

The next type of technological advancement is information storage devices. These would be things like
disk drives which the more cost-effective they are, the more useful they become. They have also
proved to be better performing which has really expanded the amount of information that is in the
digital form. Currently, more information is in digital form than in any other format. Due to these
efficient ways of storing information and transmitting information, the prices of computer have
dropped considerable since the mid-90s.

The third way technology has trended is through networking. More and more, computers are
connected in networks whether it be local area networks or wide-area networking. The advancement
in this area has been due to optical fiber networking. Probably the single reason why networking has
grown to such an extent is because people are using the internet more and more exponentially.

Lastly, what has made the world of IT advance as much as it has the fact that there are so many more
application in which the need for IT has skyrocketed. Computers are being used for so many different
things today from word processors to the use of spreadsheets that having knowledge in this field is
endless.

If one goes to a computer store, there are so many things that a person can put onto their computer.
There are also endless devices which utilize information technology like telephones and printers. The
goal many times is to make things faster.

There will always be new trends in information technology as has been described. Also, we see it
everyday even though we may not be aware of all of the minute details. So many things to day are
computerized, and it is advanced technology which has helped make it work to the extent that it does.
For more information on this topic, one can look online or browse some IT magazines. Someone can
also ask their IT professional at their workplace. It is an interesting field that we will have to look
forward to seeing new inventions with the years to come
Tobacco Advertising Regulation
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:39:04 +0000

Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters.

Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been
found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found
advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient
Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another
manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this
day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of
wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.[4]
History tells us that Out-of-home advertising and billboards are the oldest forms of advertising.

As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general populace was unable
to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller, tailor or blacksmith would use an image
associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a
candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs
of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their
whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.

As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed advertising
expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly
newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books
and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and
medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false
advertising and so-called “quack” advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the
regulation of advertising content.

As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside. In the United
States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the growth of mail-order
advertising.

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages,
allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula
was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney Palmer established a predecessor to
advertising agencies in Boston.[5] Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas
extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it
the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in
newspapers. N. W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for
advertising content. N.W. Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia.[5]

Online ad regulations for the US set by

industry
Tuesday 05 Oct 2010 - 14:34

Five advertising trade groups, including the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), have launched a new program that will label online
advertisements that their members serve based on the web-surfing habits of consumers.

The five groups on Monday launched AboutAds.info, which gives online advertisers and
networks information about the new advertising option icon. The groups are pushing members to
use the icon, which will be tied to an opt-out mechanism for targeted advertising, alongside
online advertisements.

The action by the five groups comes as some members of the US Congress have explored
privacy legislation that would set rules for the collection of personal data by online advertisers.
The US Federal Trade Commission also issued revised guidelines for behavioural advertising in
February 2009, and it is again looking at new standards. Some privacy groups have called on
Congress or the FTC to require online ad networks to get opt-in permission from consumers
before collecting information to be used for targeted advertising, but the new advertising icon
would add another way for consumers to opt out.

Online advertising groups have taken several steps in the past to self-regulate, with the Network
Advertising Initiative, for example, offering an opt-out cookie for targeted ads across its
members' networks. The new icon is in line with the report, Self-Regulatory Principles for
Online Behavioural Advertising, which the online ad industry released in July 2009.

The new icon builds on "DMA's longstanding commitment to consumer choice and its history of
effective self-regulation across all marketing communications," Larry Kimmel, the CEO for
DMA, said.

The NAI is already providing notice about targeted advertising on or near millions of ads each
day, said Andrew Weinstein, an NAI spokesman. "This approach will ensure there is a
consistency to the visual icon, messaging and opt-out process across all of the participants in the
online advertising industry," he said. "There is a growing consensus among industry
organisations that using a single icon will be easier for consumers to understand and use."
The groups are working with members of Congress and the FTC to address issues they have
raised, Weinstein added. "We believe that this programme fully responds to the FTC's call for
more robust and effective self-regulation of interest-based advertising," he said.

A decade's worth of self-regulatory efforts by the online advertising industry have failed, said
privacy advocate Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "This
last minute attempt to head off soon-to-be-released FTC privacy safeguards, as well as federal
legislation, is too little, too late," he said. "The new websites created for this effort fail to inform
consumers about how they are tracked, profiled and targeted online."

The new effort allows the collection of much financial and health data of consumers, with only
the "narrowest" exemptions, Chester added. The new guidelines tell ad companies not to collect
financial account information, Social Security numbers or prescription information without a
consumer's consent.

"None of this new effort involved consumer and privacy groups, so it's fox watching the
corporate-run hen house," Chester said. "This effort, like the others, is designed to head off new
FTC proposals coming in a few weeks. The FTC is expected to support real consumer protection
controls that would minimise data collection, ensure real transparency and consumer control."
CIGARATE ADVERTISING

The June 11 passage of the FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill, which provides the U.S. government with extensive power
to regulate tobacco products, is a major step for federal regulation of cigarette manufacturers. The bill provides the
Food and Drug Administration with its most expansive authority over the tobacco industry to date: not only does it
grant the FDA the power to dictate product ingredients and overrule new products, it compels tobacco companies to
eliminate potentially misleading labels like "light" and "mild," regulate a product's ingredients and increase the size of
the warning labels on cigarette packs. The tobacco industry is no stranger to regulation, however. Over the past half-
century, cigarette manufacturers have found ways to successfully sell their product despite increasing advertising
restrictions and will no doubt try to continue to do so in the face of this new legislation. (A hazier kind of smoke:
see pictures of Cannabis culture in the U.S.)

Before the hazardous health effects of smoking were widely known, cigarette companies were able to advertise
largely regulation-free. The first tobacco advertisement in the United States ran in 1789 when what is now the
Lorillard Tobacco Company promoted their snuff in a local New York newspaper. Manufacturing and transportation
constraints limited the distribution of tobacco products (at that time, mostly snuff, cigars and pipe tobacco) to local
markets and largely kept companies from exploring the benefits of branding. The first strong national tobacco brand
didn't emerge until near the end of the Civil War, when both Union and Confederate soldiers in Durham, North
Carolina raided a local farmer's tobacco crop while waiting for a surrender to be completed. After the war was over,
these soldiers began writing to the farmer, Mr. John Green, requesting more; Green went on to establish the
successful Bull Durham Tobacco Company. (See pictures of classic cigarette ads.)

By the late 19th century, two innovations had helped launch cigarette companies to national prominence. The first, a
cigarette-making machine introduced in the 1880s, dramatically increased production; instead of producing some
40,000 hand-rolled cigarettes a day, a company with one of these machines could produce 4 million cigarettes daily.
The second development came in the late 1870s with the invention of color lithography, which revolutionized
advertising and packaging and helped developing brands strengthen their identities. Using this new technology,
companies began including small cigarette cards in every box as premiums. These collectible trading cards depicted
movie stars, famous athletes and even Native American chiefs. While they were eventually discontinued to save
paper during World War II, some of the rarer cards, like former Pittsburgh Pirate Honus Wagner, still sell for more
than $2 million today.

During World War II, soldiers were issued with free cigarettes, courtesy of the tobacco companies; with millions of
nicotine-addicted G.I.s returning home after the war, the still largely unregulated tobacco industry aggressively
promoted cigarettes throughout the 1950s. Companies sought to distinguish their brands with popular slogans like
"Winston tastes good like a cigarette should," "Light up a Lucky," and "For more pure pleasure, have a Camel!" Many
cigarette makers also sponsored television shows — when Winston's ad introduced the long-running CBS Western
Gunsmoke, "cigarette" was replaced in their slogan by the sound of two gunshots. For tobacco companies, it was the
Golden Age: cigarette ads featured endorsements from dentists, doctors, babies and even Yankees slugger Mickey
Mantle. Growing evidence of a link between smoking and lung cancer eventually led manufacturers to introduce
cigarette filters — and while it was eventually revealed that filtered cigarettes were no safer than their regular
counterparts, that didn't stop them from being advertised as lower in tar and nicotine. (Watch TIME's video "Au
Revoir Cigarettes.")

Increasing public scrutiny of the tobacco industry finally came to a head in 1964 when the U.S. Surgeon General,
Luther Terry, released his Advisory Committee Report on Smoking and Health. The staggeringly comprehensive
report was based on more than 7,000 scientific studies linking smoking with lung cancer, emphysema and other
diseases. The report led a surge in restrictive legislation, including mandatory warning labels on packages and a ban
on advertising on radio or television. Tobacco companies in return simply changed strategy, advertising to younger
markets with candy cigarettes and mascots like Joe Camel — whom a 1991 study found was more recognizable
among 5 and 6 year olds than Mickey Mouse. By labeling cigarettes as an "addictive drug" in 1996, the FDA sought
to gain control over the industry and limit the sales and advertising of tobacco products. While its actions were
supported by then President Bill Clinton, the Supreme Court ruled against the FDA in 2000, claiming the federal
agency was never given the proper authority to regulate tobacco by Congress.

Once the new bill becomes law, the FDA will have the regulatory power over the tobacco industry that has eluded
them over the past two decades. Among the new restrictions are a ban on tobacco advertising within 1,000 ft. of
schools and playgrounds, a requirement that warning labels cover 50 percent of the front and back of cigarette packs
and the end of sweetened and spice-flavored cigarettes. President Obama (who has struggled with his own nicotine
addiction) lauded the bill, saying in a statement that its passage "truly defines change in Washington." He is expected
to sign it into law in the coming week.

Regulations

1. ADVERTISING
2. No personal appearance, picture or drawing of an Academy Award recipient with an Academy
Award symbol or Academy mark may be used in advertising or promotional materials of any sort
without the written consent of the Academy, except as permitted by these Regulations.
3. No Academy Award symbol or photograph, picture or drawing that includes a reproduction of an
Academy Award symbol or Academy mark may be used in any advertising in newspapers,
periodicals, billboards, posters or other medium, specifically including electronic media, without
the written consent of the Academy, except as permitted by these Regulations.
4. Pictures that have received or been nominated for an Award of Merit may be so advertised in
print, electronic media and theatrical trailers subject to the following conditions:
1. Pictures that have received an Award of Merit may use a depiction of the Oscar statuette
provided:
1. it appears no more than once in each advertisement,
2. the size of the depiction does not exceed ten percent of the total advertising
space,
3. the Academy approves the quality of the representation of its symbol used,
4. the copyright, trademark and service mark notice, “©A.M.P.A.S.®,” accompanies
the depiction in legible form, and
5. the achievement for which the award was conferred is specified adjacent to the
depiction.
2. Pictures that have received an Award of Merit may use the words “OSCAR® Winner,”
“ACADEMY AWARD® Winner,” or similar descriptions incorporating the Academy’s
marks provided:
1. any reference to the Academy’s marks is directly followed by an indication of the
achievement for which the award was conferred, and
2. the Academy’s marks appear in the form “OSCAR®,” “OSCARS®,” “ACADEMY
AWARD®,” and “ACADEMY AWARDS®” to provide notice of trademark and
service mark ownership and registration.
3. Pictures nominated for an Award of Merit may use the words “OSCAR® Nominee,”
“ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee,” or similar descriptions incorporating the Academy’s
marks provided that:
1. no reproduction of an Oscar statuette is used,
2. the word “Nomination(s)” or the words “Nominated for” appear in the same size,
style and color of type as the marks “ACADEMY AWARDS®” or “OSCARS®,”
3. the word “winner” or equivalent term is not used to describe the receipt of a
nomination, and
4. any reference to the Academy’s marks is directly followed by an indication of the
achievement for which the nomination was conferred.
5. No film or achievement that has not received or been nominated for an Award of Merit (including
those that use the talents of a former Academy Award winner or nominee) may be advertised or
exploited in a manner that may mislead the public or imply by design, layout or wording of copy
that the film or achievement has received such an award or nomination.
 From each January 1 until that year’s Academy Awards presentation, no individual may be
described in advertising as an “Oscar® Nominee” or “Academy Award® Nominee” except in
advertising for the film for which the nomination was received.

6. Special Awards (conferred only by vote of the Academy Board of Governors) must be clearly
identified in all advertising by their specific name (Thalberg Award, Sawyer Award, Honorary
Award, etc.) and must specify the year in which the recognition was accorded. Special Awards
shall not be advertised or exploited in a manner that may cause the public to confuse a Special
Award with an Award of Merit voted by the Academy membership.
7. A Scientific and Technical Award may be used in advertising that achievement provided:
1. the year and accomplishment for which the Award was given are included in the
advertising,
2. only the image of the award conferred is depicted, and not the Oscar statuette, unless the
statuette was the award presented,
3. references to the award are specific as to the classification (i.e., Technical Achievement
Award, Scientific and Engineering Award or Academy Award/Oscar), and
4. all parties named in the award are included.
8. No film may be advertised or exploited as having “qualified” for an Academy Award or having
otherwise been officially recognized by the Academy, except as a Nominee or Winner and in
accordance with these Regulations.

Advertising Agency Ethics

By George Boykin, eHow Contributor

updated: May 17, 2010

I want to do this!

Most adverting agencies have a code of ethics.

There is no shortage of ethics within the advertising agency business. According to Estey-Hoover
Advertising, there are 13,000 advertising agencies operating in America today. Most of the agencies
have published codes of ethics, many of which are found in the HR handbook for new hires or are
posted on their respective agency websites. The issue therefore is the extent to which agencies
adhere to the ethics they profess.

Ethics Defined

1.

Concepts of right and wrong require a global moral standard.

An advertising agency, as a "business" enterprise, should conform to a system of moral

principles appropriate for business. Chris MacDonald, PhD., a professor of philosophy at
Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Canada, defines business ethics as "the critical,
structured examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of
commerce."

Unfortunately, the issue of behavioral constraints in advertising become obscure in the

absence of a universal moral standard by which to judge ourselves and others.

The Advertising Agency Ethics Conundrum

2.

Ethical advertising agencies stay in business longer.

The implication of the absence of a universal moral standard is that ethics in advertising is a
normative, relative to the system of reference.

Therein lays the dilemma. At the extreme, ethics in advertising can arguably be whatever
the agency "wants" it to be irrespective of its published code of ethics.
Advertising Agency Ethics

3.

Negative images are harmful to society and to the advertising industry.

Nearly all of the published agency codes of ethics avow to striving to be a positive and a
constructive force in business.

Most agencies stress competing on merit without disparaging competitive agencies. Most
agencies emphasize fair, honest and ethical treatment of its clients in regards to services
delivered, its suppliers in regards to prompt payments, its media partners, co-workers, the
government and the general public.

By far, most commentary found in advertising agency codes of ethics is devoted to creative
standards that address the relationship of the agency to the consuming public. This is
understandable because while advertising has the potential for much good, advertising can
also be a menacing, dark societal influence.

Agency creative standards usually address issues such as: false, misleading or
exaggerated statements and opinions; misleading price claims; rigged testimonials from
non-authoritative sources; advertising copy and visuals that may be offensive to certain
segments of society.

The Shelf-life of Ethics in Advertising Agencies

4. Advertising ethics is a perishable commodity with a short shelf-life. It is insufficient to

simply publish a Statement of Values or Ethics and then consider it a "mission
accomplished." When left alone without nurturing and feeding, agency ethics can mutate,
taking on a life of its own with the potential of degenerating into a B-grade movie monster.
Agency ethics must therefore be consistently practiced and reinforced at all levels within the
agency, throughout the ranks of management and staff on a routine basis as part of the
agency's culture. In effect, when it comes to ethics, advertising agencies must practice what
they preach.

Implications

5. Since the first half of the 20th century with the advent of mass media, advertising has
become a powerful, if not the most powerful, influence in defining and shaping societal
norms. With the introduction of the Internet, the ability of mass communications is within the
 reach of even the smallest of operators. Even the smallest of operators however will require
the services of an advertising agency that operator is likewise skilled in the art and science
of persuasion. The implication is clear. Advertising agencies that pay lip-service to ethics,
that purvey negative images and impressions which exploit human vulnerabilities in the
service of promoting bad behavior over good behavior can and do have a poisonous impact
on society.

Is Advertising Aimed At Children Ethical?

You see it everywhere and much of it seems to try and be subtle. Everything a child picks up these
days has some type of advertising on it. Cartoons are no longer fun and silly; they are long
commercials for certain toys or television programs. One of the biggest advertisers to children today
is Hannah Montana. Everyone wants to wear her clothes, have her book bags and do whatever they
can to be like her.

One of the most important questions we have to ask ourselves is what this is doing to our children.
Back in the 60s and 70s advertising was more subtle. When you asked a children growing up in that
environment what they wanted to be when they grew up, you probably would find lots of teachers,
presidents or doctors.

Today when you ask kids that same question you probably will get a variation of making money. The
kids today have turned into a group of materialistic non-thinkers and many think this has to do with
the advertising that goes directly to them.

Advertising has damaged children to a large extent. When you go to any toy department you can
see how. The kids are literally begging parents for the newest and brightest advertising specialty.
Whether it's the newest Wii gadget or the new Xbox, children are clamoring to be first in line. Many
feel that if they do not have these things, they will not be liked by their peers.

One current television commercial shows a young boy advertising Dish Network. He's about 12 and
all of his friends come over to watch their special shows with him because they either don't have
cable or their cable isn't working. He tapes everyone's show and feels superior and self satisfied
because he can help his friends.

Why Advertisers Care About Advertising To Children

Although many people agree that this is exploitation of children in the worst way, advertisers think
differently. The reason why children are so prized is because they can affect advertising in three
ways. First, many young children have spending money of their own. Secondly, they can also tell
their parents what they want and many are able to get exactly what they request. And finally, let's
face it; children are the most open to advertising campaigns.

With these three tested and true ways of advertising, children have spent billions of dollars
themselves and influenced several billion with their parents. The statistics are startling. According to
Global Issues Website, the average child in the United States watches between 25,000 and 40,000
commercials each year. Advertisers spend $15 to $17 billion to market to U.S. children.

In the U.S. teens spend about $160 billion a year, children up to 11 years of age spend about $18
billion a year and those children between the ages of 8-12 influence $30 billion in spending by their
parents. About 80% of global brands actually go after the 8-12 market. Over $130-670 billion of
parental purchases are influenced by children under 12.

The advertisers care about money and their advertising seems to be working. If children were not
buying their products, they would stop advertising to them. Advertisers get to the children because
they advertise on every device that children use. From television to iPods to cell phones and
websites children are bombarded.

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS

ETHICS IN ADVERTISING

INTRODUCTION

1. The importance of advertising is "steadily on the increase in modern society."1 That

observation, made by this Pontifical Council a quarter century ago as part of an overview of the
state of communications, is even more true now.

Just as the media of social communication themselves have enormous influence everywhere, so
advertising, using media as its vehicle, is a pervasive, powerful force shaping attitudes and
behavior in today's world.

Especially since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has frequently addressed the question
of the media and their role and responsibilities.2 She has sought to do so in a fundamentally
positive manner, viewing the media as "gifts of God" which, in accordance with his providential
design, bring people together and "help them to cooperate with his plan for their salvation."3
In doing so, the Church stresses the responsibility of media to contribute to the authentic, integral
development of persons and to foster the well being of society. "The information provided by the
media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth,
freedom, justice and solidarity."4

It is in this spirit that the Church enters into dialogue with communicators. At the same time, she
also calls attention to moral principles and norms relevant to social communications, as to other
forms of human endeavor, while criticizing policies and practices that offend against these
standards.

Here and there in the growing body of literature arising from the Church's consideration of
media, the subject of advertising is discussed.5 Now, prompted by the increasing importance of
advertising and by requests for a more extensive treatment, we turn again to this topic.

We wish to call attention to positive contributions that advertising can and does make; to note
ethical and moral problems that advertising can and does raise; to point to moral principles that
apply to this field; and, finally, to suggest certain steps for the consideration of those
professionally involved in advertising, as well as for others in the private sector, including the
churches, and for public officials.

Our reason for addressing these matters is simple. In today's society, advertising has a profound
impact on how people understand life, the world and themselves, especially in regard to their
values and their ways of choosing and behaving. These are matters about which the Church is
and must be deeply and sincerely concerned.

2. The field of advertising is extremely broad and diverse. In general terms, of course, an
advertisement is simply a public notice meant to convey information and invite patronage or
some other response. As that suggests, advertising has two basic purposes: to inform and to
persuade, and — while these purposes are distinguishable — both very often are simultaneously
present.

Advertising is not the same as marketing (the complex of commercial functions involved in
transferring goods from producers and consumers) or public relations (the systematic effort to
create a favorable public impression or ?image' of some person, group, or entity). In many cases,
though, it is a technique or instrument employed by one or both of these.

Advertising can be very simple — a local, even ?neighborhood,' phenomenon — or it can be

very complex, involving sophisticated research and multimedia campaigns that span the globe. It
differs according to its intended audience, so that, for example, advertising aimed at children
raises some technical and moral issues significantly different from those raised by advertising
aimed at competent adults.

Not only are many different media and techniques employed in advertising; advertising itself is
of several different kinds: commercial advertising for products and services; public service
advertising on behalf of various institutions, programs, and causes; and — a phenomenon of
growing importance today — political advertising in the interests of parties and candidates.
Making allowance for the differences among the different kinds and methods of advertising, we
intend what follows to be applicable to them all.

3. We disagree with the assertion that advertising simply mirrors the attitudes and values of the
surrounding culture. No doubt advertising, like the media of social communications in general,
does act as a mirror. But, also like media in general, it is a mirror that helps shape the reality it
reflects, and sometimes it presents a distorted image of reality.

Advertisers are selective about the values and attitudes to be fostered and encouraged, promoting
some while ignoring others. This selectivity gives the lie to the notion that advertising does no
more than reflect the surrounding culture. For example, the absence from advertising of certain
racial and ethnic groups in some multi-racial or multi-ethnic societies can help to create
problems of image and identity, especially among those neglected, and the almost inevitable
impression in commercial advertising that an abundance of possessions leads to happiness and
fulfillment can be both misleading and frustrating.

Advertising also has an indirect but powerful impact on society through its influence on media.
Many publications and broadcasting operations depend on advertising revenue for survival. This
often is true of religious media as well as commercial media. For their part, advertisers naturally
seek to reach audiences; and the media, striving to deliver audiences to advertisers, must shape
their content so to attract audiences of the size and demographic composition sought. This
economic dependency of media and the power it confers upon advertisers carries with it serious
responsibilities for both.

II

THE BENEFITS OF ADVERTISING

4. Enormous human and material resources are devoted to advertising. Advertising is everywhere
in today's world, so that, as Pope Paul VI remarked, "No one now can escape the influence of
advertising."6 Even people who are not themselves exposed to particular forms of advertising
confront a society, a culture — other people — affected for good or ill by advertising messages
and techniques of every sort.

Some critics view this state of affairs in unrelievedly negative terms. They condemn advertising
as a waste of time, talent and money — an essentially parasitic activity. In this view, not only
does advertising have no value of its own, but its influence is entirely harmful and corrupting for
individuals and society.

We do not agree. There is truth to the criticisms, and we shall make criticisms of our own. But
advertising also has significant potential for good, and sometimes it is realized. Here are some of
the ways that happens.
a) Economic Benefits of Advertising

5. Advertising can play an important role in the process by which an economic system guided by
moral norms and responsive to the common good contributes to human development. It is a
necessary part of the functioning of modern market economies, which today either exist or are
emerging in many parts of the world and which — provided they conform to moral standards
based upon integral human development and the common good — currently seem to be "the
most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs" of a socio-
economic kind.7

In such a system, advertising can be a useful tool for sustaining honest and ethically responsible
competition that contributes to economic growth in the service of authentic human development.
"The Church looks with favor on the growth of man's productive capacity, and also on the ever
widening network of relationships and exchanges between persons and social groups....[F]rom
this point of view she encourages advertising, which can become a wholesome and efficacious
instrument for reciprocal help among men."8

Advertising does this, among other ways, by informing people about the availability of rationally
desirable new products and services and improvements in existing ones, helping them to make
informed, prudent consumer decisions, contributing to efficiency and the lowering of prices, and
stimulating economic progress through the expansion of business and trade. All of this can
contribute to the creation of new jobs, higher incomes and a more decent and humane way of life
for all. It also helps pay for publications, programming and productions — including those of the
Church — that bring information, entertainment and inspiration to people around the world.

b) Benefits of Political Advertising

6. "The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it ensures the participation of citizens
in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility both of electing and
holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means
when appropriate."9

Political advertising can make a contribution to democracy analogous to its contribution to

economic well being in a market system guided by moral norms. As free and responsible media
in a democratic system help to counteract tendencies toward the monopolization of power on the
part of oligarchies and special interests, so political advertising can make its contribution by
informing people about the ideas and policy proposals of parties and candidates, including new
candidates not previously known to the public.

c) Cultural Benefits of Advertising

7. Because of the impact advertising has on media that depend on it for revenue, advertisers have
an opportunity to exert a positive influence on decisions about media content. This they do by
supporting material of excellent intellectual, aesthetic and moral quality presented with the
public interest in view, and particularly by encouraging and making possible media presentations
which are oriented to minorities whose needs might otherwise go unserved.

Moreover, advertising can itself contribute to the betterment of society by uplifting and inspiring
people and motivating them to act in ways that benefit themselves and others. Advertising can
brighten lives simply by being witty, tasteful and entertaining. Some advertisements are
instances of popular art, with a vivacity and elan all their own.

d) Moral and Religious Benefits of Advertising

8. In many cases, too, benevolent social institutions, including those of a religious nature, use
advertising to communicate their messages — messages of faith, of patriotism, of tolerance,
compassion and neighborly service, of charity toward the needy, messages concerning health and
education, constructive and helpful messages that educate and motivate people in a variety of
beneficial ways.

For the Church, involvement in media-related activities, including advertising, is today a

necessary part of a comprehensive pastoral strategy.10 This includes both the Church's own
media — Catholic press and publishing, television and radio broadcasting, film and audiovisual
production, and the rest — and also her participation in secular media. The media "can and
should be instruments in the Church's program of re-evangelization and new evangelization in
the contemporary world."11 While much remains to be done, many positive efforts of this kind
already are underway. With reference to advertising itself, Pope Paul VI once said that it is
desirable that Catholic institutions "follow with constant attention the development of the
modern techniques of advertising and... know how to make opportune use of them in order to
spread the Gospel message in a manner which answers the expectations and needs of
contemporary man."12

III

THE HARM DONE BY ADVERTISING

9. There is nothing intrinsically good or intrinsically evil about advertising. It is a tool, an

instrument: it can be used well, and it can be used badly. If it can have, and sometimes does
have, beneficial results such as those just described, it also can, and often does, have a negative,
harmful impact on individuals and society.

Communio et Progressio contains this summary statement of the problem: "If harmful or utterly
useless goods are touted to the public, if false assertions are made about goods for sale, if less
than admirable human tendencies are exploited, those responsible for such advertising harm
society and forfeit their good name and credibility. More than this, unremitting pressure to buy
articles of luxury can arouse false wants that hurt both individuals and families by making them
ignore what they really need. And those forms of advertising which, without shame, exploit the
sexual instincts simply to make money or which seek to penetrate into the subconscious recesses
of the mind in a way that threatens the freedom of the individual ... must be shunned."13

a) Economic Harms of Advertising

10. Advertising can betray its role as a source of information by misrepresentation and by
withholding relevant facts. Sometimes, too, the information function of media can be subverted
by advertisers' pressure upon publications or programs not to treat of questions that might prove
embarrassing or inconvenient.

More often, though, advertising is used not simply to inform but to persuade and motivate — to
convince people to act in certain ways: buy certain products or services, patronize certain
institutions, and the like. This is where particular abuses can occur.

The practice of "brand"-related advertising can raise serious problems. Often there are only
negligible differences among similar products of different brands, and advertising may attempt to
move people to act on the basis of irrational motives ("brand loyalty," status, fashion, "sex
appeal," etc.) instead of presenting differences in product quality and price as bases for rational
choice.

Advertising also can be, and often is, a tool of the "phenomenon of consumerism," as Pope John
Paul II delineated it when he said: "It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style
of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward ?having' rather than ?being', and
which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an
end in itself."14 Sometimes advertisers speak of it as part of their task to "create" needs for
products and services — that is, to cause people to feel and act upon cravings for items and
services they do not need. "If ... a direct appeal is made to his instincts — while ignoring in
various ways the reality of the person as intelligent and free — then consumer attitudes and life-
styles can be created which are objectively improper and often damaging to his physical and
spiritual health."15

This is a serious abuse, an affront to human dignity and the common good when it occurs in
affluent societies. But the abuse is still more grave when consumerist attitudes and values are
transmitted by communications media and advertising to developing countries, where they
exacerbate socio-economic problems and harm the poor. "It is true that a judicious use of
advertising can stimulate developing countries to improve their standard of living. But serious
harm can be done them if advertising and commercial pressure become so irresponsible that
communities seeking to rise from poverty to a reasonable standard of living are persuaded to
seek this progress by satisfying wants that have been artificially created. The result of this is that
they waste their resources and neglect their real needs, and genuine development falls behind."16

Similarly, the task of countries attempting to develop types of market economies that serve
human needs and interests after decades under centralized, state-controlled systems is made more
difficult by advertising that promotes consumerist attitudes and values offensive to human
dignity and the common good. The problem is particularly acute when, as often happens, the
dignity and welfare of society's poorer and weaker members are at stake. It is necessary always
to bear in mind that there are "goods which by their very nature cannot and must not be bought
or sold" and to avoid "an ?idolatry' of the market" that, aided and abetted by advertising, ignores
this crucial fact.17

b) Harms of Political Advertising

11. Political advertising can support and assist the working of the democratic process, but it also
can obstruct it. This happens when, for example, the costs of advertising limit political
competition to wealthy candidates or groups, or require that office-seekers compromise their
integrity and independence by over-dependence on special interests for funds.

Such obstruction of the democratic process also happens when, instead of being a vehicle for
honest expositions of candidates' views and records, political advertising seeks to distort the
views and records of opponents and unjustly attacks their reputations. It happens when
advertising appeals more to people's emotions and base instincts — to selfishness, bias and
hostility toward others, to racial and ethnic prejudice and the like — rather than to a reasoned
sense of justice and the good of all.

c) Cultural Harms of Advertising

12. Advertising also can have a corrupting influence upon culture and cultural values. We have
spoken of the economic harm that can be done to developing nations by advertising that fosters
consumerism and destructive patterns of consumption. Consider also the cultural injury done to
these nations and their peoples by advertising whose content and methods, reflecting those
prevalent in the first world, are at war with sound traditional values in indigenous cultures.
Today this kind of "domination and manipulation" via media rightly is "a concern of developing
nations in relation to developed ones," as well as a "concern of minorities within particular
nations."18

The indirect but powerful influence exerted by advertising upon the media of social
communications that depend on revenues from this source points to another sort of cultural
concern. In the competition to attract ever larger audiences and deliver them to advertisers,
communicators can find themselves tempted — in fact pressured, subtly or not so subtly — to set
aside high artistic and moral standards and lapse into superficiality, tawdriness and moral
squalor.

Communicators also can find themselves tempted to ignore the educational and social needs of
certain segments of the audience — the very young, the very old, the poor — who do not match
the demographic patterns (age, education, income, habits of buying and consuming, etc.) of the
kinds of audiences advertisers want to reach. In this way the tone and indeed the level of moral
responsibility of the communications media in general are lowered.
All too often, advertising contributes to the invidious stereotyping of particular groups that
places them at a disadvantage in relation to others. This often is true of the way advertising treats
women; and the exploitation of women, both in and by advertising, is a frequent, deplorable
abuse. "How often are they treated not as persons with an inviolable dignity but as objects whose
purpose is to satisfy others' appetite for pleasure or for power? How often is the role of woman
as wife and mother undervalued or even ridiculed? How often is the role of women in business
or professional life depicted as a masculine caricature, a denial of the specific gifts of feminine
insight, compassion, and understanding, which so greatly contribute to the ?civilization of
love'?"19

d) Moral and Religious Harms of Advertising

13. Advertising can be tasteful and in conformity with high moral standards, and occasionally
even morally uplifting, but it also can be vulgar and morally degrading. Frequently it deliberately
appeals to such motives as envy, status seeking and lust. Today, too, some advertisers
consciously seek to shock and titillate by exploiting content of a morbid, perverse, pornographic
nature.

What this Pontifical Council said several years ago about pornography and violence in the media
is no less true of certain forms of advertising:

"As reflections of the dark side of human nature marred by sin, pornography and the exaltation
of violence are age-old realities of the human condition. In the past quarter century, however,
they have taken on new dimensions and have become serious social problems. At a time of
widespread and unfortunate confusion about moral norms, the communications media have made
pornography and violence accessible to a vastly expanded audience, including young people and
even children, and a problem which at one time was confined mainly to wealthy countries has
now begun, via the communications media, to corrupt moral values in developing nations."20

We note, too, certain special problems relating to advertising that treats of religion or pertains to
specific issues with a moral dimension.

In cases of the first sort, commercial advertisers sometimes include religious themes or use
religious images or personages to sell products. It is possible to do this in tasteful, acceptable
ways, but the practice is obnoxious and offensive when it involves exploiting religion or treating
it flippantly.

In cases of the second sort, advertising sometimes is used to promote products and inculcate
attitudes and forms of behavior contrary to moral norms. That is the case, for instance, with the
advertising of contraceptives, abortifacients and products harmful to health, and with
government-sponsored advertising campaigns for artificial birth control, so-called "safe sex", and
similar practices.

IV
 SOME ETHICAL AND MORAL PRINCIPLES

14. The Second Vatican Council declared: "If the media are to be correctly employed, it is
essential that all who use them know the principles of the moral order and apply them faithfully
in this domain."21 The moral order to which this refers is the order of the law of human nature,
binding upon all because it is "written on their hearts" (Rom. 2:15) and embodies the imperatives
of authentic human fulfillment.

For Christians, moreover, the law of human nature has a deeper dimension, a richer meaning.
"Christ is the ?Beginning' who, having taken on human nature, definitively illumines it in its
constitutive elements and in its dynamism of charity towards God and neighbor."22 Here we
comprehend the deepest significance of human freedom: that it makes possible an authentic
moral response, in light of Jesus Christ, to the call "to form our conscience, to make it the object
of a continuous conversion to what is true and to what is good."23

In this context, the media of social communications have two options, and only two. Either they
help human persons to grow in their understanding and practice of what is true and good, or they
are destructive forces in conflict with human well being. That is entirely true of advertising.

Against this background, then, we point to this fundamental principle for people engaged in
advertising: advertisers — that is, those who commission, prepare or disseminate advertising —
are morally responsible for what they seek to move people to do; and this is a responsibility also
shared by publishers, broadcasting executives, and others in the communications world, as well
as by those who give commercial or political endorsements, to the extent that they are involved
in the advertising process.

If an instance of advertising seeks to move people to choose and act rationally in morally good
ways that are of true benefit to themselves and others, persons involved in it do what is morally
good; if it seeks to move people to do evil deeds that are self-destructive and destructive of
authentic community, they do evil.

This applies also to the means and the techniques of advertising: it is morally wrong to use
manipulative, exploitative, corrupt and corrupting methods of persuasion and motivation. In this
regard, we note special problems associated with so-called indirect advertising that attempts to
move people to act in certain ways — for example, purchase particular products — without their
being fully aware that they are being swayed. The techniques involved here include showing
certain products or forms of behavior in superficially glamorous settings associated with
superficially glamorous people; in extreme cases, it may even involve the use of subliminal
messages.

Within this very general framework, we can identify several moral principles that are particularly
relevant to advertising. We shall speak briefly of three: truthfulness, the dignity of the human
person, and social responsibility.
a) Truthfulness in Advertising

15. Even today, some advertising is simply and deliberately untrue. Generally speaking, though,
the problem of truth in advertising is somewhat more subtle: it is not that advertising says what is
overtly false, but that it can distort the truth by implying things that are not so or withholding
relevant facts. As Pope John Paul II points out, on both the individual and social levels, truth and
freedom are inseparable; without truth as the basis, starting point and criterion of discernment,
judgment, choice and action, there can be no authentic exercise of freedom.24 The Catechism of
the Catholic Church, quoting the Second Vatican Council, insists that the content of
communication be "true and — within the limits set by justice and charity — complete"; the
content should, moreover, be communicated "honestly and properly."25

To be sure, advertising, like other forms of expression, has its own conventions and forms of
stylization, and these must be taken into account when discussing truthfulness. People take for
granted some rhetorical and symbolic exaggeration in advertising; within the limits of recognized
and accepted practice, this can be allowable.

But it is a fundamental principle that advertising may not deliberately seek to deceive, whether it
does that by what it says, by what it implies, or by what it fails to say. "The proper exercise of
the right to information demands that the content of what is communicated be true and, within
the limits set by justice and charity, complete. ... Included here is the obligation to avoid any
manipulation of truth for any reason."26

b) The Dignity of the Human Person

16. There is an "imperative requirement" that advertising "respect the human person, his
rightduty to make a responsible choice, his interior freedom; all these goods would be violated if
man's lower inclinations were to be exploited, or his capacity to reflect and decide
compromised."27

These abuses are not merely hypothetical possibilities but realities in much advertising today.
Advertising can violate the dignity of the human person both through its content — what is
advertised, the manner in which it is advertised — and through the impact it seeks to make upon
its audience. We have spoken already of such things as appeals to lust, vanity, envy and greed,
and of techniques that manipulate and exploit human weakness. In such circumstances,
advertisements readily become "vehicles of a deformed outlook on life, on the family, on
religion and on morality — an outlook that does not respect the true dignity and destiny of the
human person."28

This problem is especially acute where particularly vulnerable groups or classes of persons are
concerned: children and young people, the elderly, the poor, the culturally disadvantaged.

Much advertising directed at children apparently tries to exploit their credulity and suggestibility,
in the hope that they will put pressure on their parents to buy products of no real benefit to them.
Advertising like this offends against the dignity and rights of both children and parents; it
intrudes upon the parent-child relationship and seeks to manipulate it to its own base ends. Also,
some of the comparatively little advertising directed specifically to the elderly or culturally
disadvantaged seems designed to play upon their fears so as to persuade them to allocate some of
their limited resources to goods or services of dubious value.

c) Advertising and Social Responsibility

17. Social responsibility is such a broad concept that we can note here only a few of the many
issues and concerns relevant under this heading to the question of advertising.

The ecological issue is one. Advertising that fosters a lavish life style which wastes resources
and despoils the environment offends against important ecological concerns. "In his desire to
have and to enjoy rather than to be and grow, man consumes the resources of the earth and his
own life in an excessive and disordered way. ... Man thinks that he can make arbitrary use of the
earth, subjecting it without restraint to his will, as though it did not have its own requisites and a
prior God-given purpose, which man can indeed develop but must not betray."29

As this suggests, something more fundamental is at issue here: authentic and integral human
development. Advertising that reduces human progress to acquiring material goods and
cultivating a lavish life style expresses a false, destructive vision of the human person harmful to
individuals and society alike.

When people fail to practice "a rigorous respect for the moral, cultural and spiritual
requirements, based on the dignity of the person and on the proper identity of each community,
beginning with the family and religious societies," then even material abundance and the
conveniences that technology makes available "will prove unsatisfying and in the end
contemptible."30 Advertisers, like people engaged in other forms of social communication, have
a serious duty to express and foster an authentic vision of human development in its material,
cultural and spiritual dimensions.31 Communication that meets this standard is, among other
things, a true expression of solidarity. Indeed, the two things — communication and solidarity —
are inseparable, because, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, solidarity is "a
consequence of genuine and right communication and the free circulation of ideas that further
knowledge and respect for others."32

CONCLUSION: SOME STEPS TO TAKE

18. The indispensable guarantors of ethically correct behavior by the advertising industry are the
well formed and responsible consciences of advertising professionals themselves: consciences
sensitive to their duty not merely to serve the interests of those who commission and finance
their work but also to respect and uphold the rights and interests of their audiences and to serve
the common good.
Many women and men professionally engaged in advertising do have sensitive consciences, high
ethical standards and a strong sense of responsibility. But even for them external pressures —
from the clients who commission their work as well as from the competitive internal dynamics of
their profession — can create powerful inducements to unethical behavior. That underlines the
need for external structures and systems to support and encourage responsible practice in
advertising and to discourage the irresponsible.

19. Voluntary ethical codes are one such source of support. These already exist in a number of
places. Welcome as they are, though, they are only as effective as the willingness of advertisers
to comply strictly with them. "It is up to the directors and managers of the media which carry
advertising to make known to the public, to subscribe to and to apply the codes of professional
ethics which already have been opportunely established so as to have the cooperation of the
public in making these codes still better and in enforcing their observance."33

We emphasize the importance of public involvement. Representatives of the public should

participate in the formulation, application and periodic updating of ethical codes. The public
representatives should include ethicists and church people, as well as representatives of
consumer groups. Individuals do well to organize themselves into such groups in order to protect
their interests in relation to commercial interests.

20. Public authorities also have a role to play. On the one hand, government should not seek to
control and dictate policy to the advertising industry, any more than to other sectors of the
communications media. On the other hand, the regulation of advertising content and practice,
already existing in many places, can and should extend beyond banning false advertising,
narrowly defined. "By promulgating laws and overseeing their application, public authorities
should ensure that ?public morality and social progress are not gravely endangered' through
misuse of the media."34

For example, government regulations should address such questions as the quantity of
advertising, especially in broadcast media, as well as the content of advertising directed at groups
particularly vulnerable to exploitation, such as children and old people. Political advertising also
seems an appropriate area for regulation: how much may be spent, how and from whom may
money for advertising be raised, etc.

21. The media of news and information should make it a point to keep the public informed about
the world of advertising. Considering advertising's social impact, it is appropriate that media
regularly review and critique the performance of advertisers, just as they do other groups whose
activities have a significant influence on society.

22. Besides using media to evangelize, the Church for her part needs to grasp the full
implications of the observation by Pope John Paul: that media comprise a central part of that
great modern "Areopagus" where ideas are shared and attitudes and values are formed. This
points to a "deeper reality" than simply using media to spread the Gospel message, important as
that is. "It is also necessary to integrate that message into the ?new culture' created by modern
communications" with its "new ways of communicating... new languages, new techniques and a
new psychology."35

In light of this insight, it is important that media education be part of pastoral planning and a
variety of pastoral and educational programs carried on by the Church, including Catholic
schools. This includes education regarding the role of advertising in today's world and its
relevance to the work of the Church. Such education should seek to prepare people to be
informed and alert in their approach to advertising as to other forms of communication. As the
Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, "the means of social communication. ... can give
rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said
or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass
media."36

23. In the final analysis, however, where freedom of speech and communication exists, it is
largely up to advertisers themselves to ensure ethically responsible practices in their profession.
Besides avoiding abuses, advertisers should also undertake to repair the harm sometimes done by
advertising, insofar as that is possible: for example, by publishing corrective notices,
compensating injured parties, increasing the quantity of public service advertising, and the like.
This question of ?reparations' is a matter of legitimate involvement not only by industry self-
regulatory bodies and public interest groups, but also by public authorities.

Where unethical practices have become widespread and entrenched, conscientious advertisers
may be called upon to make significant personal sacrifices to correct them. But people who want
to do what is morally right must always be ready to suffer loss and personal injury rather than to
do what is wrong. This is a duty for Christians, followers of Christ, certainly; but not only for
them. "In this witness to the absoluteness of the moral good Christians are not alone: they are
supported by the moral sense present in peoples and by the great religious and sapiential
traditions of East and West."37

We do not wish, and certainly we do not expect, to see advertising eliminated from the
contemporary world. Advertising is an important element in today's society, especially in the
functioning of a market economy, which is becoming more and more widespread.

Moreover, for the reasons and in the ways sketched here, we believe advertising can, and often
does, play a constructive role in economic growth, in the exchange of information and ideas, and
in the fostering of solidarity among individuals and groups. Yet it also can do, and often does,
grave harm to individuals and to the common good.

0In light of these reflections, therefore, we call upon advertising professionals and upon all those
involved in the process of commissioning and disseminating advertising to eliminate its socially
harmful aspects and observe high ethical standards in regard to truthfulness, human dignity and
social responsibility. In this way, they will make a special and significant contribution to human
progress and to the common good.
Responsive advertising regulation: A case study

Authors: Debra Harker - Debra Harker previously worked as a Marketing

Consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick Management Consultants in England and AGB
McNair in Australia. She has a doctorate in advertising regulation and now lectures
in Marketing at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.a; Glen
Wiggs - Glen Wiggs is Director of the Foundation for Advertising Research.b; Michael
Harker - Michael Harker is Associate Professor in Marketing and Strategic
Management at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He
was previously Marketing Director for Lloyds, an Engineering Service and Testing
organisation based in Europe, and Development Director for Mastergear Inc.a

Abstract
As the most visible element of the marketing communications mix, advertising has
had its critics and, given the choice, developed countries usually select a self-
regulatory approach to deal with unacceptable or irresponsible advertising. This
article reviews the literature in this area and incorporates thoughtful contributions
from research conducted with New Zealand's Advertising Standards Authority. This
approach helps bridge the gap between theory and practice and assists advertising
practitioners and regulators concerned with advertising control to eliminate
undesirable features of such systems in the future. Findings indicate that practice
differs from theory in the areas of complaint acceptance procedures and code
enforcement. A challenge for future research lies in addressing these two key
components of the model in more detail and less breadth.