What are some of the ethical issues that marketers need to consider when appealing to a person's self-concept? Give examples of issues where marketers utilized unethical appeal .
The concept of appealing to a person's self-concept in marketing is marred with controversy because of the myriad of ethical issues that emerge therein. Fundamentally, the self-concept encompasses the particular individual beliefs and perceptions of one's abilities and identity. In marketing, different ad campaigns are designed in a way that seeks to appeal to the self-concept by contextualizing a product with how people perceive themselves to be and their particular abilities. Ethical issues that emerge include biased self-concept constructs, insensitive language, and incorrect self-images in marketing instruments.
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Notably, as Malik et al. (2020) observe, marketers must implement the technique in a way that does not offend or upset their target's self-concept. To this end, they must ensure that they incorporate marketing ethical principles when creating marketing content that seeks to appeal to the self-concept. In some of the recent ad campaigns, marketers are deliberately creating content that seeks to limit the individual's self-concept. To explain, some of the adverts advance social constructs about individuals thus violating ethical principles of a person's self-concept. A recent ad campaign in the UK was flagged for contravening these ethical standards. The ad uses a boy, and a girl consuming the company's cereals and towards the end shows them as becoming a scientist and a ballerina, respectively. The ad campaign utilized the self-concept's unethical appeal, especially on the part of the girl (Sweney, 2020). In retrospect, it contravenes some girl's self-concept, especially those who intend to become future scholars.
References
Malik, A., Merunka, D., Akram, M. S., Barnes, B. R., & Chen, A. (2020). Self‐concept, individual characteristics, and counterfeit consumption: Evidence from an emerging market. Psychology & Marketing , 37 (10), 1378-1395. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21386
Sweney, M. (2020, July 1). First Ads Banned for Contravening UK Gender Stereotyping Rules . The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/aug/14/first-ads-banned-for-contravening-gender-stereotyping-rules
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