MRKT 318: Integrated Marketing Communications

Assignment #1: Legal and Ethical Assessment

Worth:

20 points

Turn-in:

Assignments folder

Format:

Memo format on a new document

Grading

: 3 points for each question. 5 points for format/writing quality (see rubric on D2L).

Directions:

The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn and understand the ethical/legal

considerations for advertising and promotions.

Read Chapter 4

to answer the following

questions about the case below (You can skip 4-2). Cite any information that you use from the

textbook in the memo.

Case Description:

You are currently working at a small advertising agency, Scott & Scott, as a senior copyeditor.

Your advertising agency is called in by a major national client, Oleander, to help re-launch a

product that has steadily been losing market share - a facial lotion designed to combat wrinkles

called FreshSkin. The client has asked the advertising agency to employ a message of "new and

improved" in the product re-launch for all the advertising and promotions including TV and

magazine advertisements. As you work toward an extensive (and extremely expensive)

marketing communications re-launch, you learn that the product has only gone through a name

change and an extremely expensive packaging design. No existing product features, attributes or

benefits have been improved in any way. As senior copyeditor, you are planning on using the

phrase "new and improved" in all of your advertising material for print and commercials. You

decide to do some research on this area and find some useful information (this is the information

in the chapter). Since your company is small, you are not able to find an internal code of ethics

for your own company, but you are able to find the one listed in your chapter. You decide to

contact your CEO at the advertising agency to express your concern about the situation. In a

memo to the CEO, you decide to address the following concerns. (See the example below for a

memo format example.)

1.

What is the ethical issue in this situation? Be specific as possible.

2.

What is the legal issue in this situation? Be specific as possible.

3.

Identify all of the potential stakeholders in this situation and the impact of the issue on

each of them.

4.

Provide several resolutions for this situation. What are the potential consequences for

each resolution?

5.

What would you suggest that the CEO do?