The relationship between clients
and consumers has always been a bit of a give and take. It’s kind of like a
“Help me help you” situation in which clients promise a better outcome for the
consumer if the consumer invests in their product or service. The amount of
dependence on this relationship from both sides is unbelievable. This chapter
really reminded me of how we live in such a society of instant gratification –
we are always searching, pushing, and fighting for the next best thing –
something or someone that will improve us in some way, shape, or form. But what accompanies this kind of society is
a world of ethical dilemmas in which areas get grayer and questions become
harder to answer.
I want to focus on the concept of
the TARES test, which in essence is a list of questions that makers of
persuasive messages should ask themselves to determine the ethical nature of
the message. I found it rather interesting that the ethics of a particular
message can be determined by a simple test with so much room for opinion and
bias. For example, one person might think that the ad treats the receiver with
respect while another does not – and that is just on the client side. On the
other hand, a consumer could feel respected by the ad while another feels
disrespected by it. There are so many ethical factors that go into ethical
decision-making beyond those included in the TARES test: truthfulness,
authenticity, respect, equity, and social responsibility. There are a couple values
that I think are crucial to add to this list: community and diversity. Although
profitability is often times the major goal, I think it’s important for media
outlets and corporations to remember that they are more than just a business –
they have a responsibility to acknowledge and promote the social good as well
as the ideals that our country prides itself on – this is done primarily
through the ideals of communities. Diversity is also very important. For
example, the chapter mentioned that many African-Americans don’t often see
themselves in advertisements. This is a big problem considering that more than
45 million Americans are black. The same goes for other races and ethnicities; if
businesses and corporations want to market to Americans, then they must target
ALL Americans in an equally diverse and strategic manner. Like the chapter
said, “The ethical goal of advertising should be the empowerment of multiple
stakeholders”. I enjoyed this chapter
and I feel like every student in schools of communication should read a chapter
such as this one: it really emphasizes important issues in today’s society
concerning all fields of communications.