By Evan Kern
When surveyed on ethical standards, 92% of surveyed Americans rated advertising and public relations professionals as average or lower, according to Gallup’s 2023 poll. “Advertising practitioners,” as they were identified in the survey, ranked 20th out of 25 professions for ethical standards. This yearly survey asks the American public their opinions on 25 professions to find out who they trust the most to act ethically. Advertising and public relations professionals rank above only car salesmen and members of Congress.
This may not surprise you, considering nicknames like “spin doctor” are often given to members of this profession due to its history. Public relations started with staged events and heavy embellishments, including blatant lies at times. The goal of the client came first, even when it meant letting the public be fooled. Even though we’ve come a long way from that, reputation remains salient in modern society.
Ethics isn’t an easy topic to master. I’m still just beginning to understand the different philosophies and how they apply to my life. It’s important, however, that we all get to know ethical principles. We owe it to each other. We owe it to ourselves. You’ll hear those two many times over. I’m adding one: We owe it to our profession.
The Basics of Ethics
To understand what we owe to our profession, we need to have at least a surface-level understanding of ethics. From there, we can build strategies to ensure ethical practice. According to the Arthur W. Page Center’s lesson “Core Ethical Principles” for public relations, there are three main ethical philosophies:
- Utilitarianism. This theory suggests that the decision that produces the best outcome for the greatest number of people is the correct one.
- Deontology. That big, scary word just means that any decision can be classified as right or wrong based on a set of universal rules.
- Applied ethics. This philosophy suggests that there are sets of moral principles that each individual and each society has with no two necessarily being the same, and we make decisions based on how those principles apply to the situation.
Ethics in Practice
So now that we have discussed the philosophies. How does this apply to advertising and public relations? How can we act ethically? Well, applied ethics is the philosophy we should subscribe to for the sake of our job. There are a few moral principles that are asked of all of us as members of American society. These include honesty, accountability, loyalty (to some extent), and perseverance. Certain companies will also have their own set of values that they hold as standards. Following that, we have our own personal morals. Some value kindness, faith, or responsibility. It’s completely individual. Your personal morals as well as professional and societal ones should guide your actions at work. For example, what would you do if you were offered a bonus or a promotion, but to get it you would have to lie about your client’s product to the media? Applied ethics says that the moral principle of honesty should affect your decision and make you choose to decline. But there’s also a principle of loyalty. So, what wins? That’s up to you as a professional and who you want to be. If you ask me, honesty should win. I prefer a more deontological approach to honesty: lying is always wrong, no matter what it protects. It’s also against the law in some cases. You may have a more complex view of the situation. That’s okay. There is no correct way to understand these ethical questions. But it is good to have in mind.
Why it Matters
As I said before, ethical practice is not easy; none of us are perfect. It’s important, however, that we are always trying to keep ethics in mind. For example, the current preferred method of PR is two-way symmetrical communications. We listen to the consumers and work for them as much as we do our clients. Ethical practice helps us maintain free-flowing communication in both directions because it increases trust in our clients. That way, we can maintain a hospitable environment in which the market can exist.
Conclusion
There should be no real consequence for choosing what you truly think is right. If there is, maybe that’s not the workplace for you. Use your moral compass. That’s your job. Our profession has a bad reputation. You’ve read the statistics, and you’ve heard the name-calling. The public doesn’t trust advertising and PR. It is our responsibility to act ethically to repair the profession’s reputation. If we all work together and put in the effort, we can make it happen.
Happy Valley Comm 