There are many marketing techniques that aren’t exactly ethical. Some of them are stereotyping, subliminal advertising and targeting audiences that can serve from stereotyping. Something that many people do is send you a worse product than advertised, and count on incorrect postage costs on refunds funding them. They are clever strategies but are unethical.
Key Takeaways:
- The stereotypical impression created by much commercial marketing is that having an abundance of possessions will lead to fulfillment and happiness, but the opposing message is that the consumer will not be part of the happy group if he does not purchase the product.
- Cultural and ethnic sensitivities may cause certain groups to find some types of marketing offensive. For example, marketing for a luxury car that shows the driver as a man who is able to charm an attractive woman makes a number of social statements that could offend.
- In the same way that the use of racial or ethnic groups in advertising can serve to stereotype them, the absence from using these groups in marketing in a multiethnic society can create image and identity problems among those that are excluded.
“In the same way that the use of racial or ethnic groups in advertising can serve to stereotype them, the absence from using these groups in marketing in a multiethnic society can create image and identity problems among those that are excluded.”
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/marketing-issues-ethical-implications-24089.html