Marketing Ethics Essay

...

dignity of women. Secondly, this piece of ad also involved false and misleading marketing by claiming the product is all natural and thus acting in disregard of another code of ethics, Fairness. Furthermore, the suspicion of deceptive promotion has been substantiated by the court (Kelly et al v. Popchips, Inc., 2013), proven that Popchips falsely labeled and marketed its products as all-natural, which in fact contained artificial and synthetic ingredients and underwent heavy processing.

To align the promotion with the right position where the brand puts its products in, Popchips can transform the whole marketing concept in a more attention-getting and meanwhile more ethical way. If we take a closer look at both of the ads, it is easy to discover that Katy Perry wears heavy make up with fake, dramatic eyelashes and showy lipstick; her portrait must have been photoshopped for many times to present such silky, polished skin. Sarcastically, the excessive make up contradicts the idea of being natural. In light of this, Popchips should opt for promoting an image of Katy Perry actively seeking natural beauty by showing her face without make up, and thus creates positive association with the product to eliminate the allusive sexual objectification. Further more, to avoid the suspicion of deceptive marketing, Popchips should restate the iconic all-natural slogan in a comparative tone, using phrases such as ‘more natural’ or ‘healthier’ to distinguish itself from its competitors in the market while maintaining the authenticity of product information.

References

Are Popped Snacks Healthier?. (2013). Consumerreports.org. Retrieved 21 October 2017, from https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/10/popped-snacks-healthy-snacks-consumer-reports/index.htm

Kelly et al v. Popchips, Inc., Case No. 1316-cv11037, Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri at Kansas City, 2013