Posts Tagged ‘Advertising Ethics’

Truth in Advertising - The Code of Marketing Ethics

Thursday, August 13th, 2009 written by Kelly Doyle

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth - in advertising. That's the sacred code we live by as marketers. We dare not cross, bend or break it, ever.

This is not a hard concept to grasp or principle to follow. Is it?

Well, here's another example of a company that strategically profited from a misleading claim. Sigg, makers of the Swiss designed and eco-friendly reusable water bottle, promoted their product as being 100% BPA free to meet consumer demand, however, some products made before August 2008 have now been found to contain BPA plastics (http://adage.com/article?article_id=138712). The company now claims that although the products did contain BPAs, they leach 0% of the harmful plastic. Making the situation even worse, they're defending their claim positioning the facts to be in an acceptable gray area.

The line here is black & white, there's no gray area to hide in. The facts indicate that Sigg mislead consumers to make a profit.

The worst part? It’s another example that fuels consumer skepticism.

Sigg "I AM NOT PLASTIC"

Sigg "I AM NOT PLASTIC"