by Elizabeth Lemuz
Public Relations and Advertising in my opinion are two exciting careers to work in. Professionals have the to opportunity to be creative and cater new ideas to the public. There is always something new to do and the job never gets boring. These careers can also get pretty complicated and make it hard to get the job done as well.
One of the most common ethical problem that is in advertising and PR would have to be how persuasion is seen as unethical because it is deceptive. The majority of people understand that advertising is supposed to give you an idea of what the product is like, but it the product isn’t going to be exactly what is seen on tv or on paper ads. One example is when you go to your favorite restaurant. You see a hamburger that looks appetizing on the menu, and once you get it, it looks nothing like what was on the menu.
There are of course, more serious examples than this, but this is something that I am always really not content with. As a consumer, I know that the item I order of the restaurant menu is not going to be exactly like what is pictured. This is just how advertising seems to work. I know that the products have to be advertised in a way that I won’t refuse it and will buy it.
In PR, the messages that the are given to the public aren’t always very transparent, and that causes problems. I believe as PR professionals, there is some information that needs to not be shared with the public in order to protect both parties, but it isn’t seen like this by the public all the time. Much of the things PR professionals do causes them more problems. At times, I believe the professionals are to blame, but then there are times they are just doing their job.
It all goes back to ethics. We have been discussing in class the importance of ethics so much that I don’t see why there would be a problem in the first place, but then again, I’m not out working with actual clients yet. I’m learning basics. I am glad I am learning the basics now before going out into the working field because this way I can help clients in the future.
Why is being ethical a problem in these two fields? Why is deceptive persuasion a specific problem? I found an article on the Institute for Public Relations discussing PR and ethics. One reason being ethical is a problem today according to this article is because, “Press agents were concerned with generating publicity at almost any cost” (Moyer). From the beginning PR has been in a bad light. I believe because we have all realized what trouble this has caused, we want to change the face of PR.
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) states that, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics”. It is the job of professionals to help both the public and the client. I believe in order to be ethical in any situation, the option that is best for both parties will be enough. There is already discussion about how PR situations aren’t very transparent, but there needs to be more transparency in order to please both parties.
Therefore, I believe that deceptive persuasion is a problem today in advertising and PR. It has caused problems that don’t need to be there and can be prevented, but it is still occurring.
Citations:
“Ethics and Public Relations.” Institute for Public Relations. Wieck, 2011. Web. http://www.instituteforpr.org/ethics-and-public-relations/
“What is Public Relations?” Public Relations Society of America. The Public Relations Society of America, 2015. Web. http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.VQ7xdkKpX8E
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