The Impact of Morality, Religion, and Law Upon Advertising Essay

The Impact of Morality, Religion, and Law Upon Advertising Religion and other value systems are certainly crucial in defining and sanctioning sex and decency. Moslem countries tend to frown upon all kinds of salacious displays and even indirect sexual references. Similar Christian standards operate in such countries as Ireland, South Africa, Mexico, and the Philippines. Other cultures may be considered rather tolerant in sexual matters (for example, French commercials on public television readily show live semi-nude models) but may prohibit any show of pubic hair (Japan), the promotion of contraceptives (France), or the lewd use of women (Scandinavia and the Netherlands) in advertisements. Values change, however. Thus, the spread of AIDS has reopened the issue of advertising condoms and other contraceptives in a totally different context, which transcends the older concerns about birth control and venereal-disease prevention. The law usually parallels religious and moral standards. There are often statutes dealing with public indecency (in Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom), the moral protection of minors, the restriction of violent displays (including sado-masochistic ones), and discriminatory job advertisements (particularly in Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Restrictions on the publication and circulation of "sexy" magazines of the Playbqy variety, with their usually more risque ads, also belong to this category (Argentina, Lebanon, South Africa, and Thailand). Reflecting concerns about "sexist" portrayals, a 1979 amendment to the 1972 Norwegian Marketing Control Law states: An advertiser and anyone who creates advertising matter shall ensure that the advertisement does not conflict with the inherent parity between the sexes, and that it does not imply any derogatory judgment of either sex or portray a woman or a man in an offensive manner." Similar provisions have been enacted in India, Peru, and Portugal to protect women against indecent or derogatory representations. Still, the matter of constitutional freedom of speech as applied to advertising has raised serious questions concerning control of sex and decency in advertising. Swedish courts, for example, have not sustained some initiatives of the Consumer Ombudsman in this matter; and the Swedish Parliament sta... ...and P.R. Parsons, "Self-Regulation and Magazine Advertising," Journal of Advertising, 18, 4 (1989): 33-40. Randall Rothenberg, Condom Makers Change Approach," New York, Times, August 8, 1988, p. D1. Colin Shaw, Sex and Violence, Plus Decent Research," Marketing Review (UK), February 1989, pp. 6-7. Sherry B. Valan, Broadcast Ad Standards for Personal Products," Advertising Compliance Service, December 21, 1987, pp. 5-7. Laurel Wentz, AIDS: Condom Advertising Charts Broader Course Overseas," Advertising, Age, March 9, 1987, p. 62. Aubrey Wilson and Christopher West, The Marketing of Unmentionables,"' Harvard Business Review, January-February 1981, pp. 91 102. World Federation of Advertisers, "The Portrayal of Women in Advertisements" (Brussels, April 1988). R.G. Wyckham, "Self-Regulation of Sex Role Stereotyping in Advertising: The Canadian Experience," Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 6 (1987): 76-92. Jean J. Boddewyn is a professor of marketing and international business at Baruch College, City University of New York. Heidi Kunz is an assistant vice president and financial controller with FISERV, Inc., New York.