Macrocriticism and Microcriticism of Advertising In Today`s Society

Most companies embrace advertisement as the chief marketing strategy of their products services. However, advertising tactics that are used by these companies receive both macro and micro-criticisms especially when they are judged through ethical theories.  Macro-criticism of an advertisement refers to the general objection of an advertising tactic due to its potential negative effect to the society, while micro-criticism entails the objection of an advertising tactic due to the negative impact it has to an individual stakeholder (Bowie et al. 2005). This paper focuses on an ethical perspective and example for both a Macro-criticism and Micro-criticism of advertising in the contemporary society.

Ethical Perspective

In the contemporary society, marketers do not only face the burden of upholding their advertising services, but also the burden of defending the legitimacy of these advertising services. Precisely, modern marketers make use of ethical principles in order to direct and legitimize their advertisements from an ethical perspective. For example, most modern marketers use a utilitarian-based ethical principle to support that the perceived positive impacts of advertising out-weigh the negative ones. In this regard, most marketers maintain that the use of corporation-sponsored information concerning products or services provides more benefits than harm (Bowie et al. 2005). However, despite this ethical perspective of advertising, some contemporary promotion tactics encompasses macro and micro-criticisms.

Example Of Macro-Criticism Of Advertising

A good example of this form of criticism is the promotion tactics that were used by Waco, a Texas-based vehicle graphics company. On 2013, this company had used a tailgate sign illustrating a woman who had been restrained and tied up at the back of a pickup (Shaw, 2013). This advert raised major criticism in the social media platforms where most individuals complained that the advert promotes violence against women, forcing the company to remove it.

Example Of Micro-Criticism Of Advertising

This micro-objection is well illustrated in the advertising tactics of DermOrganic Company, a hair processing company. This company claimed that one of its hair brands was organic, but in the actual sense the hair product contained no any organic ingredients. The company deceived customers that this “organic” hair product had some health benefits to the user (Seacat, 2013). This made most customers to buy the product, who later failed to experience the associated health benefits.

References

Bowie, N. E., Klein, T. A., Laczniak, G. R., & Murphy, P. E.  (2005). Ethical Marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Seacat, A. (2013). Are Marketers Misleading Consumers with the Word, ‘Organic?’ Socially Minded Marketing. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1b5kmfA

Shaw, A. (2013). Woman Who Appears Bound, Gagged in Truck an ‘Experiment in Marketing,’ Sign Company Says. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/controversy-erupts-texas-sign-companys-bound-tied-woman/story?id=20205091