The Ethics of False Advertising
Panel Name
The Press: Freedom, Bias, Ethics II
Location
Lecture Center 22
Start Date
3-5-2019 3:15 PM
End Date
3-5-2019 4:15 PM
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Academic Major
Business, Communication
Abstract
False advertisement, the use of misleading and untrue information to push a consumer product, is an unethical marketing ploy that has tricked consumers since the beginning of the consumer business industry. With the modern emergence of social media, consumers are now vulnerable than ever to falling victim to these unethical deceptive representations. The ‘Fyre Festival’ documentaries that recently premiered on both Netflix and Hulu are a perfect example of modern day false advertising mixed with the use of unethical social media influencer advertising. In this research project we aim to uncover the significance of unethical advertising and research the results of both ethical and unethical advertising through the examination of four major companies who have been accused of using this tactic. The four companies we will be analyzing are Fyre, Groupon, Hydroxycut, and Redbull, since they are some of the well-known false advertising cases in the United States over the past few years. The goal of our research is to discover whether or not society falls for false advertising and how influencers and companies utilize unethical marketing to lure in consumers or followers. We will focus on four instances of false advertising and will understand how consumers were tricked into spending their money on a certain product, or going on a trip. We will analyze the marketing methods and tactics from each company and examine the trends that we find. We will be looking in depth at each lawsuit and analyze the results of both ethical and unethical advertising.
Select Where This Work Originated From
Course assignment/project
First Faculty Advisor
Chang Sup Park
First Advisor Email
cpark2@albany.edu
First Advisor Department
Journalism
The work you will be presenting can best be described as
Finished or mostly finished by conference date
The Ethics of False Advertising
Lecture Center 22
False advertisement, the use of misleading and untrue information to push a consumer product, is an unethical marketing ploy that has tricked consumers since the beginning of the consumer business industry. With the modern emergence of social media, consumers are now vulnerable than ever to falling victim to these unethical deceptive representations. The ‘Fyre Festival’ documentaries that recently premiered on both Netflix and Hulu are a perfect example of modern day false advertising mixed with the use of unethical social media influencer advertising. In this research project we aim to uncover the significance of unethical advertising and research the results of both ethical and unethical advertising through the examination of four major companies who have been accused of using this tactic. The four companies we will be analyzing are Fyre, Groupon, Hydroxycut, and Redbull, since they are some of the well-known false advertising cases in the United States over the past few years. The goal of our research is to discover whether or not society falls for false advertising and how influencers and companies utilize unethical marketing to lure in consumers or followers. We will focus on four instances of false advertising and will understand how consumers were tricked into spending their money on a certain product, or going on a trip. We will analyze the marketing methods and tactics from each company and examine the trends that we find. We will be looking in depth at each lawsuit and analyze the results of both ethical and unethical advertising.