Offensive but not so offensive Fostering Ethical and Socially
Responsible Marketing in Undergraduate Marketing Students
Abstract
Advertising that pushes the boundaries can sometimes be negatively
received, some of these advertisements were reported to the regulator of
advertising in the UK while Companies has had to apologise for their
advertisements. The systemic diversity problem within the advertising
industry is also acknowledged wondering if the industry is diverse
enough to produce an advertisement that can appeal to a diverse
audience. With this background, this paper presents a teaching
innovation with the aim of addressing students’ understanding of
creative marketing campaign in a multicultural society through the
integration of advertising practises codes, ASA rulings and secondary
research into the public perception of advertisement. The project is
divided into five main parts and takes place over a three-week period.
Students are expected to work with advertisements that vert reported
being offensive, research public’s attitude towards them and present
their justifications for either agreeing or disagreeing with the
rulings. This project allows a better understanding of the creative
challenges in developing an ethical and socially responsible marketing
campaign; finding a balance between creativity and freedom of
expression, they can better internalise the integrative nature of the
marketing concept, a valuable skill for the industry.