Advertising Ethics: Emerging Methods and Trends

What is Ethics? What is Advertising? The contemporary philosopher, William Frankena (1973), has defined ethics as a set of moral principles directed at enhancing societal well-being. Frankena reduces those moral principles to two: beneficence (doing good) and justice (being fair). Another contemporary philosopher, Geoffrey Warnock (1971), lists four principles which seem to be particularly appropriate for advertising: beneficence, nonmaleficence (don't harm), nondeception, and nondiscrimination. At times, questions have arisen as to whether such principles are followed and whether societal well-being is, indeed, enhanced by the actions of advertisers.