In
the article “Advertising Appeals: When Emotions Go Too Far,” written by Adam
Turner, advertising ethics is called into play. Is it within any distance of
word moral to advertise a product or service with the backdrop of national
tragedy or other frightening events? Mr. Turner thinks emotion-fueled
advertising has been taken too far. He makes a good argument when he speaks of
top-tier car companies using the strong nationalism and patriotism, a result of
the attacks of September 11th on the World Trade Centers, to entice
people into “buying American.” Apple’s advertising techniques are also called into
question because of their “dystopian 1984”
fear mongering. He makes a solid point that manipulative advertising, used by
preying on consumer’s emotions, is wrong and unethical.
Source: http://www.mhlearningsolutions.com/commonplace/index.php?q=node/5777
Using 9/11 to push American products exploits a real tragedy because the murder of hundreds of innocent people is not related to the US economy. Advertisers should be sensitive to people who actually lost family and friends in 9/11 because I wouldn't support someone that treated my family or friend's death as a trivial way to advertise. I'd in fact support not buying products advertised this way. THe quality of a product advertised this way probably isnt good anway since thats what an ad should highlight but if exploiting a consumer's sympathy is the only thing the company has going for them thats probably because that's the best thing they can highlight.
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