Handbook of Social Work Ethics and Values

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDY
BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDY1
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Detrimental aspects of pester power and misleading advertising....................................................2
Legislation on misleading advertising and its importance..............................................................2
Review of the voluntary codes on the ACCC..................................................................................2
Ethical implications of misleading advertising for children and vulnerable groups.......................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4

BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDY2
Introduction
The following study concerns a case study that depicts the negative impact of pester
marketing on the target customers. In the study a mother named Melanie struggles to explain her
seven year old daughter, Annie about her inability to buy her the Clarabel doll. It is a toy product
that has been marketed aggressively in order to create such a demand that children who do not
have it can be affected by negative peer pressure.
Detrimental aspects of pester power
Pester power is a type of marketing technique that is used primarily on children by
marketers. Children are nagged in a way to buy products by constantly showing targeted
messages. This way the children get highly influenced and request for the particular item
constantly. Pester power as a marketing concept can be detrimental to consumers as it can
emotionally force them to buy something. The parents of the children can be forced to buy them
a highly expensive product just due to the mental pressure that is created on the minds of
children. Consumers can end up buying expensive products just to satisfy the unnecessary wants
of their children.
Legislation on misleading advertising and its importance
There are various laws in the country that are focused on penalizing misleading
advertising. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has laws against
misleading advertising. One of the main codes that governs the regulations is the code for
advertising and marketing communications to children. Some of the issues that are covered under
the code are creating false impressions, fine prints, comparative advertising, and bait advertising
and false environmental claims. The intent of these documents is to stop advertisers from
misleading or deceiving children, creating ambiguous statements or inaccurately present
information (False or misleading claims 2012). Moreover, the pricing information should be
clearly presented to children in order for them to understand it easily. Among the other clauses,
there is also the clause for parental authority. The advertisers should not undermine the authority
of the parents over children. One of the misleading advertisement that occurs in the ACCC
website is for Snapsend. The company had not displayed photos send by the customers that were
not part of the paid subscription provided by the company (Snap Send Solve pays penalty for
alleged misleading advertising 2019). The company had earlier misinformed consumers by
stating that they would be reporting all issues sent by the customers. This was definitely a breach
of the policies.
Review of the voluntary codes on the ACCC
The AANA code for advertising and marketing to children regulate the operations of the
advertisers who market products for children. The code is present within the wider scope of the
Australian Association of national Advertisers. The document defines advertising or marketing