Page 191 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

Ethical Issues of Social Marketing and Persuasion 183

An example of a social marketing claim that would not be acceptable as
commercial speech would be the presentation of factual information in a
way that implies that a disease or problem is more prevalent than it actually
is, in order to create a sense of urgency among consumers. Another example
would be presenting scientific information about which there is uncertainty
and ambiguity in a manner that makes it appear to be “truth.” In corporate
social marketing, some companies have implied in their cause-related adver-
tisements that their donations to causes were substantial when they were
actually giving very little (Andreasen & Drumwright, 2001). Note that U.S.
law has determined that only misleading statements of fact are actionable. It
has chosen not to regulate nonfactual aspects of advertising (e.g., subjective
statements of opinion; “atmospherics,” such as the use of attractive people)
on the “theory that they are nonfactual and that no reasonable consumer
would be affected by such a claim” (Tushnet & Goldman, 2012, p. 161).
Advertising messages in electronic media are largely unaddressed by
law. Electronic media have been characterized as “’The Wild West’—a
rough and tough, no-holds-barred context in which the regulations, guide-
lines and controls of traditional media are absent”—essentially, an envi-
ronment in which anything goes (Drumwright & Murphy, 2009, p. 87).
Nonprofits and public agencies have generally been enthusiastic adopters
of electronic media because of the low cost in comparison to mass media,
which increases the importance of ethical sensitivity in their use. Many of
the ethical concerns have to do with the absence of checks and balances,
the advertiser’s loss of control, a lack of transparency, and violations of
privacy (Drumwright & Murphy, 2009). Particularly troubling ethical is-
sues are raised by stealth marketing, which typically exposes consumers to
promotional messages that they do not recognize as advertising. For exam-
ple, social marketers who hire student interns to assume fake personas and
send out favorable messages in an attempt to seed viral marketing are par-
ticipating in stealth marketing.
Even though much social marketing is not subject to commercial speech
regulation, social marketing messages should certainly meet—and, many
would argue, exceed—the regulatory standards applied to commercial
speech. Public reaction to a recent New York City Health Department anti-
obesity campaign illustrates that some people have even higher standards
for integrity and authenticity in social marketing than in commercial mar-
keting. In a hard-hitting ad campaign against super-sized portions of fast
food and sugary sodas, the New York City Health Department portrayed a
diabetic with an amputated leg by electronically manipulating a stock
photo of an able-bodied person instead of photographing an actual am-
putee (McGeehan, 2012). Even though manipulating a photo is a common