TWO VIEWPOINTS ON ADVERTISING AND ETHICSby Mutahi Kagwe, Maina wa Ndirangu
Kagwe. Before I start answering the specific questions, let me first observe that there is a connection between culture and advertising. Both are dynamic. Since advertising operates in a cultural context, when culture changes, advertising changes. Wajibu. The earth's resources are strictly limited, yet we are depleting them at an ever faster rate. Given this scenario, can there ever be justification for people to constantly be urged to buy things they could very well do without? In other words, if we are to have a just society, a society that cares about future generations, is advertising basically not anything else than propaganda for a lifestyle we cannot afford? Kagwe. Who is to be the judge as to which products we should do without? You must first of all give people the freedom of knowing the products; letting them know about what is available is the role of advertising. The choice of whether to buy or not to buy is the consumer's. When it comes to responsible choice, for instance between products which are environment friendly and those which are not, how will the consumer know about the environment friendly product except through advertising? As far as the depletion of the earth's resources is concerned, we can advertise to educate and inform people! I will give a simple example. At one time, in the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, it was the custom, when people died, for the grave to be reinforced with six feet of cement, clearly not environment friendly. Gradually, people came to realise that there was no need for this kind of expense and so this custom was dropped. There was no formal campaign against it, it happened through education in the churches. Ndirangu. To a large extent advertising is a reflection of consumer lifestyle, wants and demands, rather than a catalyst for demand for “unwanted” things. The demand for certain items and services may not be apparent but exists. All advertising does is bring it to the surface. The depletion of earth's resources is regrettable but I believe it is possible to achieve a fine balance between production and consumption of goods and maintenance and replenishment of natural resources. Wajibu. Some of the multi-national companies in our country spend fantastic amounts on prizes as part of their advertising campaigns. In a poor country like ours, where people struggle to even put food on the table, would it not be more ethical to lower their prices across the board so that everyone would benefit? Kagwe. That would be very nice but that is not how things work in reality. How will they know about the existence of these cheaper products in the first place? Can we make products and expect people somehow to know about them? Advertising is the lifeline of a company; without advertising they might as well go home because their products would not be bought, not least because nobody would know that they exist. And all costs, including the costs of advertising are passed on to the consumer. But as long as there is competition, and the consumers have been informed of the different products through advertising there is an inherent price war, and thus the price keeps on going down. So the cost of products may actually go down as the result of advertising and information about prices lower than those of a competitor can continue to bring the prices even further down. Ndirangu. Theoretically the more you promote a product, the more you sell and therefore the higher the economies of scale, allowing companies to pass on these benefits via lower prices. So, in a way, heavy promotions make products more affordable, not more expensive. One of the reasons the mobile phone companies have reduced their prices so drastically, is that they expect that with increased promotion they will sell many more phone lines, at a lower margin, but a much higher total turnover. Wajibu. Dependent as they are on advertising income, can we really expect the mass media to give us an honest picture on certain crucial issues, for example on the state of the environment, on human rights? Kagwe. Editors are usually determined not to be swayed from presenting an honest picture by advertisers. And, based on my own experience, I would say that the danger of advertisers influencing editorial independence in this part of the world is far less than the danger of political interference. Besides, the current structure of the media is such that they are rarely dependent on just one source for their advertising income. Strong media's answer to advertisers who would wish to direct editorial content can be (and often is) “You can keep your money!” The fact is that advertisers need the media. So they will come back to the media with their advertisements in spite of a certain amount of critical reporting. At the same time, I will not deny that there may at times be some undue influence on the part of advertisers but this should not be exaggerated. Ndirangu. No. Although they would vehemently deny it, claiming their editorial department's independence from the marketing and advertising department, the reality is that they are driven by profits from advertisements. Therefore they are unlikely to deliberately offend a major advertiser. Further, the amount of lobbying by these companies is so high and sophisticated that the media are considerably influenced. Wajibu. Due to the lack of activists' groups in African countries which control the advertising of products dangerous to human health such as tobacco and pesticides, the companies manufacturing such products spend voluminous sums on advertising of their products in our continent. How can we fight this? Kagwe. Through discussion of such issues in public fora, such as parliaments, as well as in the media. This is already happening. When an issue, such as that of the danger posed to health by tobacco and chemical products picks up momentum among the public, the media will usually support it. I will admit that activists' groups in this country are still few and that consumers' organisations are not strong. The Ministry of Health could also do much more. In general, therefore, the public is not as well informed as it should be and much remains to be done in this area. Ndirangu. There has been a recent increase in protest against cigarettes, largely sponsored by the Medical Association of Kenya. Dr. Charles Maringo has been quite vocal and is very convincing. I believe this trend will grow, forcing the tobacco industry to self-regulate in order to pre-empt harsher controls. Wajibu. Can there really be such a thing as ethical advertising? Kagwe. Yes, I do believe there can be, and indeed there is, but clearly there are also unethical advertisers. Ndirangu. Yes. This would be advertising that is truthful, honest and decent.
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