Are your ethics hunky dory?

The highest unprompted recall for an outdoor poster campaign since 2001 went to Hunky Dory. No prizes as to why. But for me the ‘rugby’ posters illustrate an ethical marketing conundrum:

“Just because you can, does it mean you should?”

As a creative execution, the campaign didn’t break any regulations. As a marketing proposition, assuming the brief was to gain attention and male interest, then it was bang on. Media coverage was widespread. And recall was obviously great. So all this recognition makes it worthwhile, yes?

Well, no.

As a marketer I acknowledge the campaign’s success. But as a punter, I hated passing the posters that were irresponsibly close to my local schools, so I cannot reconcile the ethics. Nor evidently could the hundreds of complainants to the ASAI. And from a business perspective, that’s a concern:

Because unless the brand is bought solely by males over a certain age, then the campaign will inevitably damage its goodwill and loyalty. And I’d have thought that in the medium term, the homogeneity of the crisp market should preclude excessive audience alienation as a business strategy.

The published defence of the campaign by the manufacturer may have been that it was “fun”, but that begs the question: “at whose expense?”

There are many ways for a company and individual to examine the ethics of their actions, but the most simple and appropriate here is this: 

“Can you justify your ad campaign to your 12 year old daughter or niece?”

Brand marketing needs to employ ethical common sense. “Can” does not mean “should”. And recall does not necessarily mean reward. Brands need to go beyond even the spirit of the law as opposed to following just the letter.

And ultimately, brands need to be cognisant of the ethical implications of their actions, because in consumers’ minds, they matter.