Role of Advertising in Society and Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Advertisers

Today, advertisements have a considerable place in our life. They are in television, internet with digital or virtual advertising or target advertising(for instance facebook adds), street with billboard or ambient advertising etc. We know, this stuation causes advertising is one of the most important thing for our purchasing desicions. But advertisement is more than this. It can be defined as a sturucture that has some responsibilities to society such as provides right information, creating brand awareness among customers, creating awareness about social affairs. In this case also advertisers have some social and ethical responsibilities. Providing righ information about a product. If we analyze an advertisement, we can explore that the advertisement trying to appear impartial to us. Advertissements do this for consumers trust. Advertising sector has been working on impartial, honesty, ethics subjects for many years but nowadays advertising sector can not be considered definetely reliable. Some advertisements such as internet advertisements has wrong or overdone information about product. This experiences create loss of confidence for advertesing in society. But also advertising is accepted structure that inform people accurately about products or services according to large of society. Advertising is not only for products or services. At the present time, brands, corporatios, celebrities, politicians, government agencies, foundations need to have credible image on society, for instance a new politician choose to way of advertesing for introduce himself or herself to society. It is the best way to reach to large of public and also government choose this way to introduce new public services or any public figure uses advertising for create public image. Advertising is acting a connectiving role between these and society. If advertisers accomplish this mission, advertising will make society conscious of brands, corporation, famous people truly. Advertising can be used for social purposes, because advertesing is the simple way to reach society. Brands or public figures already do thats with social marketing, social marketing is defined as practising of commercial marketing for social problems. It means using same techniques for advertise any product to create awareness about any social issue. For example people can see in television each book brings us to another world commercial of Meb or Coca-Colas commercial in television says open the cap of happiness in Turkey, it is about Coca-Colas social responsibility projects whish is open happiness. So advertesing can be defined as part of social marketing. Ethic is an arguable issue for advertising. Advertising appeals to human directly. Advertisers should do that without hurt someone, ethnic groups, beliefs, gender groups. If they are not sensitive for this issues, advertising may become unethical. At the same time misleading claims causes unethical advertesing. Human in advertising is other critical point. Symbolizing a car with woman body, present a human body as the perfect body, sex in advertisements are accepted unethical by a segment of society. Using children in advertising is another critical point, many advertisers accept children are able to evaluate in advertisements and they can use for making purchasing decisions for products. In ignorat societies, this idea can be acceptable by large of people. But in many devoleped countries, using children in advertesiment is not legal or has many restrictions. Advertisers sholud be more carefull with this issue. In todays world, advertising is in all parts of our life, it is not only in television but also in internet, social media, cinema, social life. It has a strong role of decision making, getting conscious, getting information about public figures, awaraness of social issues in society. Advertisers and advertising companies should use this power correctly. Also this power should not be used for selling something, should be used for person marketing, social marketing, social responsbilities projects. Government shold be respobsibility for ethic subject in advertising. There is not such a study in Turkey. Government should bring some restrictions to prevent making use of children or abbusing reliances of people. Academicians may raise awaraness advertisers and government about this issue. Advertising continues to be potent element in our social life.

To Elif AKAGN ERGN, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Management Ali Furkan ERTEKN 200732042