Extra Credit- Ethics

The topic of this presentation was ethics in advertising. I was not sure of what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. One speaker began by explaining that neither advertising or ethics is black and white. This was something that I had never considered before. I thought this was a great way to open up the discussion, as it got the audience members to think. Another speaker explained that it is not the ad that is being ethical or unethical, but the person creating the ad. For example, he explained that he had been offered an opportunity to create an ad for a cigarette brand. This went against his moral values, so he turned it down. Is it right to promote something that you do not agree in? Knowing that cigarettes kills people, it seems unethical to create promotional advertisements for it. Although the whole discussion was interesting, it was these two topics that stood out to me most.