Surrogate Advertising: Is It Ethical or a Monster in a Mask?.

Abstract

In this current global business environment with a large variety of goods and services, advertising is a suitable instruments for disseminating information and creating awareness among the existing and potential customers. The company promotion depends principally on different types of advertisements to insist upon their products" superiority or satisfaction value than those of the competitors. Advertisements are all pervasive. They are everywhere around us in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, events, give-aways, internet and more so on our mobiles and laptops. Advertisements are found in almost every imaginable place and also where they are least expected. Some advertisements are very noticeable while others are very subtle yet catchy. Consumers are constantly bombarded with ad messages having a persuasive effect on their minds. Advertisements are a paid form of communication having a twofold purpose. Firstly, making the consumer conscious about the products and services available in the market and secondly, creating a brand image of the company. In many developing countries, advertisements has overwhelmingly impacted on people thereby comprehending their lifestyle, their morals and of course their behavior in relation to outside world. Advertisements are inherent in our lives and strongly influence our living patterns. 2 The decision of a customer, whether to buy a particular product or not, is guided by, to a larger extent, by a company"s advertising campaign. Nevertheless, advertising is the cornerstone of our socioeconomic system and has become an indispensible part of our legal fabric. Advertising is an extensive, sensitive and a very much diversified subject. But all that is advertised is not healthy and beneficial to consumers. Many a times, consumers tend to make unhealthy choices after being tempted by the ads, especially children, who are allured by the misleading ads of Dominos or McDonalds and compelled to eat junk food, or the women, who in the vague to get fairer or slimmer are duped by various infomercials aired on television. Advertising of junk food is playing a big role in making children stout. More so, consumers are even compelled to buy products that are not even wanted by them. This ultimately 1 Available at-https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/leo-burnett-quotes. Visited on 9 th February 2018.

Effectiveness of Surrogate Advertisements among Viewers

“…On this basis the information of the viewers, the classification of the group is described in the table-I. [26][27][28][29][30]. And majority of the respondents were male and majority of the respondents were married.…”