From Bikinis to Basal Cell Carcinoma: Advertising Practitioners' Moral Assessments of Advertising Content

Abstract

Although a number of researchers have studied consumer moral evaluations of advertising content, little attention has been given to advertising practitioners' moral assessments of ads. As a first step toward discovering how those who work in advertising feel about ad content, a survey instrument was administered to a random sample of 681 practitioners. Since the findings revealed few significant differences in the moral assessments of advertising professionals, telephone interviews were conducted on a second random sample of practitioners to help explain the results. Although practitioners believed that the use of sexual appeals in advertising was moral, they believed they should only be used in certain circumstances. Practitioners also appeared to have favorable perceptions of the use of fear appeals. As an exploratory endeavor, this study offers suggestions for future research and overall implications for the industry's professional organizations.

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