Week 3 DQ2

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Lisa B: Ethics and Advertising Web Search: Week 3, DQ 2 ( Reply Due Now)

 The purpose of this discussion is to consider a commercial the writer finds unethical.  One will give a brief description of the commercial and an explanation of why one believes the ad to be unethical.      Sprint and Verizon are two wireless companies who hold a rivalry within their advertising.  Between 2002 and 2011, Paul Marcarelli was the actor who played the “can you hear me now” guy in Verizon commercials (Goldman, 2016).  In 2016, Sprint began airing ads featuring the same character.  According to the advertisement, the character switched as a customer from Verizon to Sprint, because Sprint has better rates than Verizon.      The writer finds this to be unethical advertising for Sprint.  The character in the commercial has moved from Verizon to Sprint, not the actor.  The actor has been hired by Sprint to portray a fictional character who has chosen one company over the other because of better rates (“From the Ethics Alarms Mail Bag,” 2016).  According to the Better Business Bureau, the ads are misleading, “noting that Sprint fails to take into account its activation charges, taxes, and other fees” in the ad’s money-saving claims (Goldman, 2016).      By adding two changes to the promotion, Sprint’s advertising would be ethical.  First, the actor could portray himself as a genuine Sprint customer with an honest testimonial for the company (“From the Ethics Alarms Mail Bag,” 2016).  Using the method of an official endorsement with facts from a true customer would correct the unethical display.  Second, disclosing potential fees in the conclusion of the commercial would clarify any misleading circumstances.      The writer finds the Sprint commercial featuring a character previously used by Verizon to be unethical.  Reasons why include false testimony and undisclosed fees.  In conclusion, the Sprint commercial could easily be made ethical by communicating actual statements and potential hidden costs accrued by the customer. 

 

References

From the ethics alarms mailbag: A reader asks, “Is the Verizon Wireless “Can you hear me

            now?” guy unethical for going over to Sprint? (2016, October). Ethics alarms. Retrieved

            from https://ethicsalarms.com/2016/10/31/from-the-ethics-alarms-mail-bag-a-reader-asks-is-

            the-verizon-wireless-can-you-hear-me-now-guy-unethical-for-going-over-to-sprint/

Goldman, D. (2016, June) Verizon's 'can you hear me now' guy joins Sprint. CNN tech.

            Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/05/technology/sprint-verizon-can-you-

            hear-me-now/index.html