Popularity and Responsibility Just about everyone knows that something is very wrong with world in which we live. Problems are compounding everywhere. While we may be tempted to look for someone to blame, that effort, at best, will do nothing to alleviate problems and, more likely, will only contribute anger and frustration to mix. Blaming is not constructive. A better approach is to take personal responsibility for situation, and look for opportunities to make a positive contribution to solution.

Certain industries already occupy positions that have more opportunities than others. Advertising, marketing, public relations, and other associated promotional industries enjoy privilege of having many such opportunities. This industry focuses on both capturing and shaping opinion, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The work of this industry is not value neutral. While it appeals to commonly held values, morals and attitudes, it also works to shape them.

“In traditional economy, products were manufactured and sold for profit to meet demand of consumers who made their needs known through market. In new postmodern capitalist economy, needs are manufactured to meet supply of producers who market products through promotion, spin, packaging, advertising, and cultural persuasion. From Democracy At Risk: American Culture In A Global Culture, by Benjamin R. Barber.

Responsibility While it is true that companies and manufactures are legally responsible for products they make and sell, that does not mean that those who advise them about things like packaging, marketing and advertising are without any associated responsibility. Manufacturers are legally responsible for their advertising, and those who assist in advertising effort are also responsible for their recommendations. However, concern here is not with imposed legal responsibilities, but with voluntary moral responsibilities.

The issue is not whether those who shape messages and place them before public in someone else’s name have a moral responsibility, but only how that responsibility is exercised. That responsibility can be accepted, or it can be rejected. It can be done intentionally, or it can be done accidentally. We can take high road, or we can take low road—or some winding road through middle. But bottom line is that moral responsibility belongs to those who shape public messages. And advertising industry works to influence both public opinion and behavior.

We don’t want to get sidetracked in a discussion about products themselves, or various ways, technologies or techniques of advertising and marketing. Rather, our concern is character of appeal that underlies advertising, marketing, public relations, or promotional effort. To what values does campaign appeal? How is it shaped? What are its implications, associations and suggestions? What is moral currency of campaign?

Overt & Covert The art of communication, which is at heart of advertising industry, is a many faceted endeavor. As we know—and know very well, communication has elements that are both overt and covert, both conscious and subconscious. There is a linguistic component, which simply conveys information about product or company. In addition, there is an emotional component that often appeals to sensuality or sexuality in one way or another. And there is a social or moral component, that appeals to cultural mores, often understood as social acceptability or popularity.

Spam was not invented on Internet. The Internet just helped give it a name. It’s been around for a long time. Essentially spam is unwelcome advertising. The problem with Internet is that you get a lot of it, and it’s VERY LOUD and in-your-face. TV’s not much different. Then there’s junk mail. Very few people even read it. In an effort to get our attention, advertisers are using two tools that seem to work best—loud and obnoxious.

Hey, they work, don't they! And whatever works must be okay because more and more people are willing to do whatever works to succeed. But does it really work? A successful bulk mail campaign would be ecstatic to get a five percent return rate. But, say a campaign is wildly successful, and gets a fifteen percent return rate. That means that it has an eighty-five percent failure rate. Yet, they call it a success because someone can make money at it.

Problem is when everyone is trying to succeed by being loud and obnoxious, things get pretty loud and obnoxious. Then, loud and obnoxious doesn't work anymore because no one can hear anything. So, they get louder and even more obnoxious. People in an argument often assume (or at least act like they think) that being loud improves their position. And advertising follows suit.

Surely, there’s a better way.

Shallow and Immature Self-Centeredness The values of loud and obnoxious have to do with image and impression. Loud and obnoxious want to create an image, and make an impression. And they do! But what are underlying values of image and impression they make? What is really being communicated is shallow, immature self-centeredness. If you think that I'm suggesting that values of reigning advertising and marketing wisdom are shallow, immature and self-centered, you’re right. Do you really want your business associated with such values? I don't .

Most advertising, marketing, and public relations efforts appeal to self-centered and shallow values. As a result, most people intentionally do everything they can to minimize effectiveness of ads. We identify them with inane. We learn to block them out. We don't even see them or hear them. That’s why they have to get louder and more obnoxious. Advertising has become an engine of rudeness and crassness that grows ever louder and ruder. Too often financial success comes at expense of increasing social and moral corruption. Advertising encourages people not to listen, not to pay attention. We have learned to tune in and tune out. Because when you do listen, you are inundated with a kind of shallow self-centeredness and an invitation to envy.

Do you really want your business associated with shallow, self-centered, rude and crass envy? I don't. Surely there is a better way.

First Impressions Substance and content always trump image and impression in long run. Substance and content are worth paying attention to. They don't have to be loud or rude. Substance and content simply stand their ground. They can do that because they actually are what they appear to be.

Of course appearance is important. First impressions are valuable because they create a benchmark for further evaluation. When that evaluation is not consistent with first impression, a disconnect occurs. Questions arise, and doubts are introduced. But when later evaluation is consistent with first impression, an important connection is made that contributes to trust.

Advertising in-and-of-itself is not a bad thing. What makes it good or bad is how it’s done and morals or values to which it appeals. Advertising that appeals to particular morals or values actually strengthens and reinforces those morals or values apart from product or service that is being advertised. In truth, advertising attempts to effect attitudes, values and morals. Morality is vehicle that carries advertising and marketing messages in public. Advertising is always necessarily moral because it always suggests someone’s idea of goodness or correctness of character and behavior, where good and correct are understood in terms of popularity. Advertising appeals to and influences both popular thought, styles and morality.

Most advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns attempt to affect minds and attitudes of people outside company by employing techniques that grab and manipulate a target audience. But people don't like being manipulated, so they learn to ignore ads. The whole endeavor is pure spam, from inception to execution.

Business Integrity and Credibility The advertising industry occupies a key position regarding social morality. We believe that advertising industry should, ought, and must encourage values of moral integrity through work that it does. Advertising needs to appeal to and build upon maturity and sagacity because it is right thing to do. The industry and people who comprise it have additional, not less, social responsibility. They (we), more than others, must be mature, responsible, full of integrity, honesty and moral character—and work we do, ads we create, should reflect this character and these values.

A better campaign will attempt to develop and then reveal substance—the character and integrity—of a company. This way when people see an advertisement, they don't need to be manipulated, but are allowed to make their own associations. They are not manipulated with false images and impressions, but are allowed to see how character and integrity effect a company. The only potential drawback is that these qualities must actually exist before they can be revealed.

The effort to create an image of integrity, for instance, without underlying reality being in place, lacks integrity. Thus, fundamental concerns of business promotion involve character and principles upon which business is built, and way that business employs character and principle in its operation.