Advertising Campaign of M&S Lingerie - Essay Example

?M&S lingerie ad ‘socially irresponsible’ Marketing, as one of the most important aspects of a company, has a huge impact on society and usually has wider implications than simply advertising. This is one of the reasons why marketing directors need to ensure that their advertisements are socially responsible, and this is the main topic of this article. The purpose of the article is to discuss the claims that the latest Marks & Spencers lingerie advertisement is irresponsible. The image in question is currently banned and shows a woman in her lingerie in what could be considered a compromising position. The problem with the advertisement is that it was designed for outdoor use, and therefore could be seen by children at any point, and that sexually suggestive advertisements need to take this into consideration. The article compares this image to another recently banned image used by Lynx, for the same sexually suggestive reasons. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is cited as beginning to take a tougher approach on these issues, backed by David Cameron in a bid to stop unregulated sexual imagery. This comes at a time when the Prime Minister himself is trying to uphold ‘family values’ and thus the advertisement industry is being required to comply with these new political ideas. This issue has wider implications because it involves the marketing industry as a whole as well as calling into question ethical theory and social responsibility for companies. Schlegelmilch & Oberseder (2010) have examined ethical trends in marketing (through the use of several types of marketing literature) and found the following: a generally increasing appreciation of ethical and moral issues in marketing (see figure 1), an increase in sexual imagery issues within ethical marketing, an increased understanding of the ethical needs associated with different religious and social groups, and an increased role for the internet in ethical marketing debates Figure 1 – The number of ethics related articles found in various marketing journals throughout recent decades; showing an increasing trend (Schlegelmilch & Oberseder, 2010) This general increase in scholarly articles about the ethics of marketing, as well as the evidence from the original article that the ASA is taking an increased interest in the reduction of available sexual imagery is interesting. Firstly, it suggests that there is an increased need for marketing companies to ensure that their images are socially appropriate without losing any of the impact factor needed to be effective. Secondly, it suggests that overly sexual imagery may not have the desired effect on the customer, and may have a ‘turn-off’ factor above a certain level. Finally, the evidence suggests that sexual imagery needs to be confined to the appropriate avenues, rather than being used in outdoor advertisements like this Marks & Spencers advertisement. Interestingly, this was not the only article about the links between marketing and social effect to be published in Marketing Week recently. Another article describes the banned Final Destination poster involving disturbing imagery (see Figure 2) with a skull being shattered by steel rods (Johnson, 2011). Again, this image was for use in the public domain in outdoor locations, easily seen by children. The advertisement series was banned for being disturbing and showing horrific imagery where it was not appropriate. Again, this shows a growing concern about the type of advertising imagery available in the public domain and a need to show concern for who may be able to view this imagery. It also suggests that sexual imagery is not the only target for responsible marketing, and all types of image should be considered before release. Again, it must be noted that images need to fall within a small threshold of effectiveness and social responsibility (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001). Research by Robin & Reidenbach (1987) suggests that many marketing directors believe that there should not be an issue between social responsibility and profit maximization, suggesting that there need not be a compromise on these issues. The research also suggests that the main way in which ethically responsible marketing can succeed is by integrating social responsibility into the culture of the corporation. This may seem self-evident, but when the marketing objective is a horror film or lingerie, like those mentioned above, it can be difficult to weave these concepts together because of the very nature of the product. It was also found that there needs to be some positive reinforcement of these positive social values, which in the case of many would be increased sales despite the need for socially responsible imagery. Again, this can be a difficult set of concepts to weave together. Figure 2 – Banned Advertisement (Sweney, 2011) Shocking imagery is also sometimes to the benefit of the company, even if the images themselves are banned. The increased role of the internet means that news of banned imagery spreads fast and these images can be found easily and quickly. This may even lead to an increase in interest in the company, which means that there is less incentive to use socially responsible imagery. Sen & Bhattacharya (2001) have also found that using the framework in Figure 3, ethically responsible companies do not always fare better in the industry, suggesting that using socially responsible marketing again may not be to the benefit of the company. Figure 3 – Ethically responsible marketing framework (Senn &Bhattacharya, 2011) In conclusion, then, it seems that ethically responsible marketing is a big issue in today’s society, with backing from the UK government and the ASA to improve the social appropriateness of images that are visible by children and placed in public place. The literature suggests that there is a growing interest in this type of marketing in the academic world. There are many benefits to using responsible imagery, not least the fact that expensive marketing is not wasted by an ASA ban. However, the internet and other modern technology have meant that banned imagery often gets a lot of attention and therefore it may not be a detriment to the company and the product to use this type of image, and therefore there needs to be some sort of reward system in place for these companies. It is a complex issue affecting the entire marketing industry. References Clews, M.-L., 2011. M&S lingerie ad “socially irresponsible.” Marketing Week. Johnson, B., 2011. Horror film’s smashed skull campaign banned. Marketing Week. Robin, D.P. & Reidenbach, R.E., 1987. Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy: Closing the Gap between Concept and Application. The Journal of Marketing, 51(1), pp.44-58. Schlegelmilch, B.B. & Oberseder, M., 2009. Half a Century of Marketing Ethics: Shifting Perspectives and Emerging Trends. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(1), pp.1-19. Sen, S. & Bhattacharya, C.B., 2001. Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing Better? Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), pp.225-243. Sweney, M., Final Destination 5 poster banned | Media | guardian.co.uk. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/07/final-destination-5-poster-banned [Accessed December 7, 2011]. Appendix http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/retail/ms-lingerie-ad-%E2%80%98socially-irresponsible%E2%80%99/3032321.article (Accessed 06/12/2011) M&S lingerie ad ‘socially irresponsible’ Wed, 30 Nov 2011 | By Mary-Louise Clews A Marks & Spencer bus ad for a lingerie range has been banned by the advertising watchdog for being ’overtly sexual’ and, because it was likely to be seen by children, “socially irresponsible”. The banned image shows a woman wearing lingerie and stockings kneeling on a bed with her back arched, legs wide apart and with one arm behind her head and the other on her thigh. Complaints about the unsuitability of other images used in the outdoor campaign that also featured women in lingerie were not upheld. The ASA ruled the images did not objectify women as it was “reasonable to feature models in underwear for a lingerie ad”. The ruling follows a similar ban on a Lynx ad last week and demonstrates the ASA’s tougher line on “untargeted outdoor advertising” following its own research and the Government commissioned Bailey Review into the sexualisation of childhood. David Cameron appointed Mothers Union chief Reg Bailey to head a review last year following growing concern of the impact of unrestricted sexual imagery becoming commonplace in the media environment. “These rulings [on M&S and Lynx] are useful examples to the industry of the tougher line we’re taking on ads that are likely to be seen by children, following our announcement in October,” says an ASA spokesman. Read More

 

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