Offensive but Not So Offensive: Fostering Ethical and Socially Responsible Marketing in Undergraduate Marketing Students

Advertising that pushes the boundaries can sometimes be negatively received, some of these advertisements were reported to the regulator of advertising in the UK while Companies has had to apologise for their advertisements. The systemic diversity problem within the advertising industry is also acknowledged wondering if the industry is diverse enough to produce an advertisement that can appeal to a diverse audience. With this background, this paper presents a teaching innovation with the aim of addressing students’ understanding of creative marketing campaign in a multicultural society through the integration of advertising practises codes, ASA rulings and secondary research into the public perception of advertisement. The project is divided into five main parts and takes place over a three-week period. Students are expected to work with advertisements that vert reported being offensive, research public’s attitude towards them and present their justifications for either agreeing or disagreeing with the rulings. This project allows a better understanding of the creative challenges in developing an ethical and socially responsible marketing campaign; finding a balance between creativity and freedom of expression, they can better internalise the integrative nature of the marketing concept, a valuable skill for the industry.