John Douglas Bishop, Is Self-Identity Image Advertising Ethical?
Self-identity image advertisement (image ad): an advertisement that create a symbolic image of an idealize persons and attempt to persuade the audience to purchase a product in order to identify themselves with that image. Central moral issues of image ads: (a) whether they make false or misleading promises; (b) whether they promote false values; (c) whether they cause harm; (d) whether they threaten the autonomy of the individual For many of the same reasons as Arrington, Bishop does not feel that image ads threaten autonomy. We will focus on the potential harms that Bishop sees in these ads. Example Ad 1: Beautiful Woman – Chanel • This ad equates beauty and flawless skin with Chanel. Example Ad 2: Sexy Teenagers – Calvin Klein • This ad equates youth and sex with Calvin Klein. Image ads don’t make false promises because their audience, in general, do not believe that the products will actually grant certain attributes literally associated with the images. Problems Associated With Pr
