You gotta meet yourself around a corner someplace

June 12th, 2008 at 03:27pm Chris Kelley

The assumption is that companies with high ethics, and that are able to communicate that to consumers, will profit. Certainly “green marketing,” is a buzzword lately in advertising everything from automobiles to soap. But while green claims are important, high ethical practices extend to all types of advertising.

This ad for the Argentine presidential campaign the was part of a panel discussion at the AAF National Conference, Monday in Atlanta. The session was called “Green vs. Green: Can Corporate Profit Follow Social Responsibility,” about how corporations can enhance brand loyalty and their profits by demonstrating ethical behavior and management. The panelists included Allison Arden, VP or AdAge, Katherine Benoit, GM Corporate Marketing Director, Tim Love, VP Omnicom Group and Doug Wood, Chairman, Advertising, Technology & Media Group, Reed Smith and was moderated by Wally Snyder, President/CEO of the American Advertising Federation. They discussed whether a commitment to progressive environmental practices can pay enough to satisfy shareholders as well as other ethical practices in advertising.

In one sense, it’s about karma. Do good, tell the truth and good will come back to you. As one of the panelists said he was told about ethics by his 97-year old grandmother, “You gotta meet yourself around a corner someplace.”

See Wally Snyder’s article on advertising ethics at http://www.aafblog.org/blog/?p=6

See the FTC’s Green Guides at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=b2333ddf96abf25788ef3037ffcfb40a&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title16/16cfr260_main_02.tpl

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