The Impact of Unethical Advertising on Customer Behaviour: an Empirical Study on Marketing Ethics

Abstract

Advertising is an integral part of marketing and business activity. Advertising has the capability to attract and attain new and existing customers to interact with the product or service. Consumers rely heavily on the information displayed in the advertisement of a product or service, with the hopes of obtaining some honest and reliable source of information to make appropriate purchase decisions. However, companies in the recent past have been criticised for misleading, deceiving and offending consumers through cheap and poor tactics showcased through their advertisements. This study aims to examine the negative impact of unethical advertising on consumer awareness, purchase behaviour and responsibility. Consumers are susceptible to falling prey to advertisements that deceive and manipulate consumer psyche into making haste decisions without further consideration. Relevant literature and studies show how unethical advertisements are classified based on the unethical practises that the advertisements portray. The reach of mass media and technology enables advertising to grasp the minds of customers, and even target customers using methods of personalisation. This thesis aims to instil a feeling of consciousness and awareness towards such cases and adopt appropriate behaviours to help alleviate the issue of unethical advertising. The study examines how consumers pay attention to this issue, their reaction to such advertisements, and the actions taken to curb the problem. Ultimately, customers tend to show willingness to adopt better attitudes and perceptions towards all forms of advertising, in order to avoid any type of deception. Keywords: unethical advertising, consumer awareness, purchase behaviour, advertising ethics, consumer deception, media influence, personalisation, consumer reaction, marketing tactics, consumer responsibility