ethics and marketing

consider the subject of ethics and marketing, it is difficult not to view the key players with a jaundiced eye. Ad men and others involved in the business of promoting products and even selling presidential candidates, are generally not held in the highest steem because they are the ones who craft the messages that lead many of us to believe that we are being taken.  Many doubtful consumers believe that in many cases, we are being sold a bill of goods.  In the 1950’s Ray Stannard Baker tapped into American doubts about the integrity of advertising in a book in which he characterized advertising as “The Permissible Lie.” Now of course no one wants to enter a field that is viewed with such cynicism. But is the reputation that marketing professionals have garnered over the years,one that has been earned as a result of dubious practices or even chicanery? When we ask, as Albert Carr did in “Is Bluffing in Business Ethical”, it is marketing professionals who draw so much ire.
So let’s make a start and begin with the opening Decision Point on p. 402. Please respond to all of the questions that follow, but my recommendation is that you not tackle the problem until you have completed the chapter because the questions require you to reference materials in the chapter to support your responses.  You may actually want to complete this exercise and the questions that follow, after you complete the other exercises.  Be sure to familiarize yourself with the contents of Table 8.1 on p. 407. I would also suggest that you understand the three concerns expressed in Objective 2 on p. 407.
In the Reality Check on p. 412, the focal point is “obesity”. My question is , whose problem is it? Does responsibility for obesity ultimately rest on the individual or do we have a larger societal problem that does not justify imposing the responsibility on the individual alone? Share your thoughts but in doing so reign in your unsupported opinions. In this instance explain your position by considering the four questions in Table 8,1 on p. 407.
Then we turn to the Decision point on p. 421. In responding to the questions that follow, be sure to reference the materials in the chapter that support your responses. (Your opinion matters but it must be supported by something you have learned in these materials in this chapter.)
On p.426, the subject is ” Marketing to Vulnerable Populations.” Read the Decision Point on p. 428 and respond to the questions that follow.
In the end of chapter materials, please respond to question 6.
Finally, Read 8-2 and 8-5. What are the principal take aways from these two articles?