ADPR 3100 Exam #3

Substantiation

what is measurable or can be proven; claims can be explicitly stated, implied, or demonstrated and can be backed up

Deception

a lie likely to mislead; legally actionable

Puffery

advertisers opinion that is considered a legitimate expression of biased opinion

an exaggeration or overstatement; broad, vague

not legally actionable

Materiality

impactful to behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs

FTC (federal trade commission)

prevents unfair competition and monitors/deters false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive advertising

created in 1914

Order of command for advertising complaints

• NAD or CARU (depending on case)

• NARB

  • evaluates advertise appeals the NAD or CARU can’t resolve

  • last resort before going to FTC

• FTC

FTC 3 part test to evaluate deception or untruthful advertising

• There must be a representation, omission, or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer 

• The act or practice must be evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable customer

• The representation, omission, or practice must be material (aka, likely to affect a consumer’s choice/use of a product/service)

Consent decree

a document that does not admit to deception, yet acknowledges that the advertiser will stop running the sanctioned ad

Cease and desist

$10,000 a day fine if decree is not signed

Corrective advertisments

Advertisements that FTC can require a company/ad agency to run to correct their mistake/deception/untruthful statements

FTC protects ____ and prevents ____

consumers; monopolies

NAD (National Advertising Division)

main group that receives, evaluates, and acts on complaints from the public, from agencies and other business concerns, and from internal staff members

CARU (children’s advertising review unit)

child-directed advertising complaints or issues

NARB (national advertising review board)

70 person panel of professionals made up of 40 advisor reps, 20 agency reps, and 10 public reps

Native advertising

ads that are cohesive with the content so the viewer feels like it belongs

matches the form, feel, and function of the media in which it appears

How to make disclosures clear

• proximity/placement

  • should appear at top left, since we read left to right

• prominence

• clarity of meaning

Native advertising articles

• resemble the format of original content on the platform

• often include featured brand or products, but not always prominently (or at all)

• sole distinguishing characteristic is disclosure statement that tells you its advertising

  • these vary in language, placement, and appearance

Two main problems with native advertising

• consumers have become increasingly skeptical or avoidant (ignoring or blocking) of most forms of advertising communication

• advertisers and marketers have, by necessity, crafted more entertaining, interesting, and meaningful advertising executions

When people recognize an ad, brand attitude ___

worsens

Consumers are more likely to recognize ad/disclosure when it is in/at the ____ of the article

middle; interrupts reading

Most americans find advertising practitioners to be…

unethical and untrustworthy

Lack of respect of advertising is blamed on 3 main areas:

• pressures for short term earnings

• client pressures

• pressures to get and keep new business, which can cause agencies to treat other agencies with a lack of respect

Commons’ dilemma

a phenomenon in which different members of a specific group face choices in which selfish, individualistic, or uncooperative decisions seem rational by virtue of short-term benefits, yet produce undesirable long-term consequences for the group as a whole

Areas of ethical concern

• advertising of ethically questionable products or services aka promoting knowingly destructive products despite their legality

  • ex. alcohol, weed, tobacco

• Ethically questionable advertising practices

  • targeting specific populations (children, elderly, ill)

  • sensitive subjects

  • advertising in school

What does being “ethically active” mean for a company?

• Agencies that openly encourage ethical decisions and actions

• Some norms for acting ethically in certain agencies 

• Recognize moral issues 

• Talk about the issues with co-workers and clients

Moral myopia

a distortion of moral vision ranging from shortsightedness to near blindness, which affects an individual’s perception of an ethical dilemma

Compartmentalization

separate ones work life from one’s personal life and personal convictions

Social marketing

the process of using marketing techniques to persuade consumers to adopt the behaviors advocate by a social cause

Socially responsible advertising

Requires an agreement between a non-profit and a for-profit and the deal is struck to maximize perceived benefits to each partner

Benefits/gains for profit/advertising partner in socially responsible advertising

• Associate its product with a perceived social good, boosting its appeal to a market segment that shares that perception

• Increase a broader market segment’s perception of the enterprise as socially engaged and responsible 

• Derive bottom line benefits from increasing market share in the targeting segment

Benefits/gains for non-profit partner in socially responsible advertising

• Direct financial support 

• Increased awareness

• Validation 

• Possibility of gaining volunteer workers since corporate employees may be encouraged to donate their time to supported clauses 

Advertisers can demonstrate they are socially responsible using 3 different types of advertising messages:

• social issues linked with product

• social issues lined with corporations

• corporate donations to social issues

Difference between social marketing and socially responsible advertising:

the messaging and intention

In the past years, consumers have become more concerned with…

the production and consumption process

Most complaints filed in FCC focus on:

• increasing prevalence of embedded advertising

• the fast scrolling tiny print of current disclosures

Misrepresentation

an express or implied statement contrary to fact

Misleading omission

when qualifying information necessary to prevent a practice, claim, representation, or reasonable expectation or belief from being misleading is not disclosed

Posers

actors or salespeople who pretend to be ordinary people or researchers confusing a survey to explain product benefits and give potential consumers the chance to examine, sample, or use a product

Buzz and viral marketing

recruitment of people to talk about products through free samples or discounts before the product is available to the general public and suggestions on what to say and how to approach people about the product

Advertorials

advertisements that appear to be information from an independent source that appear to be editorial content

Ad-sults from a search engine

use of invisible metatags by a marketer or the sale of priority by a search engine of the results from a particular query when the results are not identified as biased

Urgent ad-formation

advertisements that appear in the form of important account information from firms with an existing business relationships, government notices, sweepstakes prize notices, or checks that are simple discount coupons

Advertainment

product and advertising placement in TV shows, at sporting events, and in video games

Greenwashing

the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice

Pinkwashing/queerwashing

the promotion of the gay-friendliness of a corporate or political entity in an attempt to downplay or soften aspects of it considered negative