Illegal advertisements

There have been some practices that have been forbidden over time by various governing bodies. Holt and Grussel (2013) observe that from the days of the snake oil salesmen, outright lies, and subliminal advertisements, the world markets have advanced significantly. Therefore, the current trend in illegal advertising activities is endangering the product marketplaces and needs to be prosecuted. However, (Holt and Grussel (2013), still note that this cannot be used to determine whether or not the advertisement is working. While there are some regulations that the agencies cannot violate they can always bend them to bring their point out. Unfortunately, quite often, the agencies bend the laws a lot. Therefore, a research team from the university has come out with the idea of conducting an investigative study of the ethics required in the product advertisement (Ullah, & Hussain, 2015). The research is aimed at bringing out all the needed ethics that each advertising agency should consider so as to make the message relevant.

Research strategy in exploring the problem

During the research, a lot of consideration will be brought into action so as to address the problem appropriately. The probe3l will be divided into two variable that will be broken into parts to give a wide scope of coverage during the research. This will ensure that the information collected is reliable of accurate. In the research, the team will use depended variable and independent variable. The independent variable will be the advertising agencies and the messages coming from each advertiser. The variable is chosen to be independent due to their ability to influence the general market perception. On the other hands, dependent variable will be the consumer satisfaction, consumer rate of buying, consumer complaints and market conditions. All of these variables are affected by the advertising agencies and messages from those advertisement agencies. By depending on these variables, the research team will compare the relationship between the variable and how one variable can affect each other. In most cases, advertisers may use sweet messages to encourage buying of products that are not satisfactory. The knowledge of such dynamics will provide an opportunity for finding the necessary information.

Research question

What is the view of advertisement in the product markets, how does it affect the buying process of the consumers and do the consumers get satisfied by the products as stated during the advertisements?

Rationale for selecting the strategy

The strategy in undertaking the research problem was decided after a detailed consultation among the research markets and the study of market trends. It is evident that product quality stars by the customer and ends by the customer (Ullah, & Hussain, 2015). Therefore, it is right to believe that, customers are the immediate respondents who can give the real information of the research. The panel also had an interest in finding very reliable research. Studying the market trends in buying the power of consumers and rates of advertisement in the product market was one of the best ideas in findings the results. The advertisement dictates the buying and sales in the market. The more the advertising, the more consumers get attracted to buying the products. However, the questions are whether the advertisements are headed in right direction or not. Therefore, studying the conformance between the nature of the product with the advertising message would drive the research team towards achieving the necessary purpose.

Questionnaire

Note: Tick a Yes or No box.

Questions

YES

NO

Are the advertisements relevant to the product line of coverage?

Are the products made to meet their qualities as per the advertisements?

Are there disappointments that one may get due to the false advertisement?

Are the false advertisements frequent in the market?

Is it right to assume that the advertisements are exaggerated in most cases?

Has one suffered from false advertisement due to harmful products in the neighborhood?

The questionnaires were given to the prospective customers in all range of the products such as washing detergents, drinks, and food snacks among others.

Ethical consideration

During the research, a lot of ethical consideration was put into place to ensure that the was process was a success without violating the humanitarian right of the respondents. The research involved direct interviews and the filling of the questionnaire. It was necessary to follow the right and comfortable processes to increase the confidence of the respondent in giving valid information. Some of the ethical consideration that was put in place include

Voluntary participation

The respondents were expected to participate voluntarily in the direct interview and the filling of the questionnaire. The productivity of the research could not rely on the forced labor, and so the voluntary participation was advised. Therefore, the safety was a guarantee, and this boosted their performance a lot. Being that the question of the direct interview was open, respondent could willingly give extra information that was essential for the final research presentation.

Maintaining Confidentiality

The research team ensured that the confidentiality of the respondents was maintained. All the respondent who did not have interest at all in mentioning their private life during the interview were assured of the privacy. In most case, some of the interviewees did not also prefer disclosing their names to the public. The research team ensured this confidentiality by allowing voluntarily mentioning of the names. The idea boosted the confidentiality of the respondents making their participation overwhelming.

Data analysis

The topic of the discussion was an investigative study in the identification of the ethical and unethical activities experienced in the product advertisement markets. According to the team of the respondents that were chosen for the whole research process, it made it possible to collect all the necessary information that was needed. Customers are the targets of advertisement, and therefore, they were the right sample for the research. Also, the choice of the variable made it a success in the collection of the data since the variable dictated the behavior of each other in the markets. This research is essential for the entire public who are supposed to be conscious about the types of advertisement they watch. Also, it is important to the regulation authorities to make necessary adjustments in controlling the product advertisement market.

Measurement strategy

During the research, a variety of management strategies were put in place to ensure that the whole process was a success and dependable. One of the management strategies was the formulation of working schedule. The schedule contained all activities and the time needed to partake them completely. This ensured that the research process was timely complete as per the required. The second management was driving the research team in teams. The teams were then entitled with a different task. It helped in avoiding commotion and repetition of work during the whole process. Also, all the necessary resources including the funds were provided in time.

The research Results

According to the research, it w3as clear that some advertisements follow the unethical procedure in winning the attention of consumers. One of the promotions of the behavior that is immoral (Azhar and Shah, 2015). For instance, the Reebok company came out proudly and happy in encouraging infidelity. The title of the advertisement was “Cheat on your girlfriend but not in the personal workout.” Other companies also use fear as a motivator in the advertisement. Even though the old said that if ”it bleeds then it leads,” it is not necessary for the advertisement. The use of fear without justification to threaten the buying of consumers is unethical (Azhar and Shah, 2015). In summary, it is evident that advertising agencies are going beyond their limits in the market and should be regulated. The board of regulation should take action before it goes beyond the point of destruction because as at moment consumers are misled.

Reference

Ullah, N., & Hussain, M. (2015). Impact of Unethical Advertising, Misleading Information or Deceptive Advertising on Customer Purchasing Intention with Mediating Effect of Word of Mouth: Case of Pakistan. International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 1(4), 49-69.

Azhar, N., & Shah, F. M. (2015). The Impact of Unethical Advertisements on Women Buying Behavior in Pakistan. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 423.

Holt, K., & Grusell, M. (2013). What is unethical advertising?: An analysis of complaints to the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman 2009-2012. In IAMCR conference:” Crises, Creative destruction and the Global Power and Communications Order”, Dublin 25-29 June 2013..