Chapter 12, Problem 1EA

After working really hard to distinguish yourself, you've ?nally been promoted to senior account executive at a major advertising agency and placed in charge of the agencies newest account, a nationally known cereal company. Their product is one you know contains excessive amounts of sugar as well as arti?cial colorings and lacks any nutritional value whatsoever. In fact, you have never allowed your own children eat it.

Your boss has indicated that the cereal company would like to use the slogan “It's good for you" in their new television and print advertising campaign. You know that a $2 billion lawsuit has been ?led against the Kellogg and Viacom corporations for marketing junk food to young children. The suit cited "alluring product packaging, toy giveaways, contests, collectibles, kid-oriented websites, magazine ads, and branded toys and clothes." In addition, two consumer groups have brought suit against children's television network Nickelodeon for "unfair and deceptive junk-food marketing."

Your new role at the agency will be tested with this campaign. Doing a good job on it will cement your position and put you in line for a promotion novice president. But as a responsible parent, you have strong feelings about misleading advertising targeted at susceptible children.

Using a web search tool, locate articles about this topic aid then write responses to the Following questions. Be sure to support your arguments and cite your sources.

Ethical Dilemma: Do you follow your principles and ask to be transferred to another account? Or do you help promote a cereal you know may be harmful to children in order to secure your career?

Sources: James Schroeder, "To the Heart of the Matter: We Are What We Eat,"Evansville Courier Press, http://www.courierpress.com, September 11, 2017; Lizzie Parry, “Popular Cereals Contain Up to a Third of Your Kids' Sugar Intake." The Sun, http://thesun.co.uk, February 8, 2017; Stephanie Thompson. "Kellogg Co. Might as Well Have Painted a Bull's—eye on Itself: Advertising Age, January 23, 2006; and Abbey Klaassen, "Viacom Gets Nicked," Advertising Age, January 23, 2006.

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The ethical impact of promoting a product that contains harmful content.

Introduction:

The concept of ethics stands in between the two extremes of codified law and personal freedom. It refers to what is considered to be as correct behavior based on the societies interpretation. As and when society interprets things differently, what is once the standard for ethics can change over time. For example-: Slavery in the 18^th century or smoking in the 19^th century.

Explanation of Solution

It is clearly unethical and immoral what K is doing by promoting products that contains harmful content especially to children. As the company is responsible for marketing, they are also part of this ethical dilemma as they help to create the marketing content that will be used to promote this product.

As an employee of the advertising firm, whether one would stand up for something like this depends on what stage of the moral development one is in. Most mid-level employees are at 'avoiding punishment' stage where they would ignore ethical concepts and will do what is being told as they do not want to be punished.

But individuals with higher moral development will have their own ethical standards and will stand up for something like this and would voice their concerns. But for an individual who is struggling with his career and does not have a proper fitting in the company might find it difficult to build higher moral standards and likely will do things to avoid punishment.