Tendence v porušování etické regulace reklamy

Abstract

Advertising has become an integral part of modern society. It informs us and influences our decisions on a daily basis. With the abundance of advertising messages, there is increasing pressure to be original and to differentiate oneself from the competition, which in some cases can lead to violations of ethical standards and ensuing complaints about advertising. The reason for looking more closely at the topic of the tendency to violate ethical regulation of advertising is therefore mainly the negative impact on society. The primary goal of the bachelor thesis is to analyze and quantify the development of ethical standards violations in advertising in the Czech Republic in the period 2002-2022 and to identify the most common forms of unethical advertising. Furthermore, it will also provide a complex and relevant view of the tendencies of violations of ethical regulation of advertising over the last 20 years, which may be useful for a better understanding of the current situation in the advertising environment. To accomplish the goal, this thesis applies case studies and content analysis methods. In particular, quantitative analysis to determine the number of cases per year, and qualitative analysis to further explore the details of the selected examples. Sources include mainly academic literature, legislation and current Advertising Council documents. The bachelor thesis is divided into several parts. First, a theoretical perspective on advertising and its effect on the public is presented, as well as the legislative and ethical regulation of advertising. Then it deals in particular with the Advertising Council and its practice in the application of the Code of Ethics of Advertising with specific examples. It also analyses the tendencies of violations of ethical regulation of advertising. Especially the overall trend of violations of ethical standards in advertising in the period 2002-2022 and then a more detailed examination of individual criteria and areas of ethical violations on objectionable advertising divided into periods of five years. From the analysis of the development of ethical standards violations in advertising in the Czech Republic in the period 2002-2022, it was possible to identify a major trend of tendencies and the most frequent forms of unethical advertising. On the basis of this analysis, it was possible to conclude that since the beginning of the period under review, there has been a significant decline in the tendency to violate the ethical regulation of advertising, which can be attributed to the progressive introduction of a more effective Code of Ethics for Advertising. At the same time, the hypothesis that technical progress will lead to new forms of unethical advertising in the period under study could be refuted, as thanks to well-defined rules, advertising entities have no possibility to avoid existing ethical norms and regulations. In order to improve respect of the ethical standards in advertising, at the end of this thesis several specific recommendations were suggested to better inform the public and advertisers and to prevent the tendency to violate ethical regulation of advertising. This bachelor thesis can also serve as a source of information for further consideration and suggestions for measures in the field of ethical regulation of advertising.