Creative Writing Is Undercover Marketing Ethical

Is Undercover Marketing Ethical
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Is undercover marketing ethical? In April 2011, Gersonjct reported that undercover marketing or stealth marketing is a new technique developed by different brands and organizations to boost their sales and to urge more and more customers to try their products through hidden, unwise techniques to methods. The concept of undercover marketing was first brought to light in 2002 when Sony Ericsson hired numerous actors and actresses to pose as tourists in several American towns and cities without revealing the truth that they were representing the company and were indirectly provoking others to use Sony Ericsson camera phones to click their photographs. The images of those actors and actresses went viral, and soon the media and the public got to know that it was Sony Ericsson’s strategy to generate more and more revenues. This campaign is one of the most controversial examples of what undercover or stealth marketing is. By no means, undercover marketing is ethical; instead, it is a significant threat to the society as well as the business world (Gersonjct, 2011).
In their article titled What’s the Buzz? Undercover Marketing and the Corruption of Friendship, Jeanette Kennett, and Steve Mathews write that undercover or stealth marketing is a new way of promoting a particular product, service or brand. Some of the companies have already opted for this marketing tactic considering that it is the only way for them to defeat the rivals or competitors. Those who become a part of such promotional campaigns do not reveal the truth as the firms they are representing pay them heavily for such services. In recent months, a large number of brands and companies have been evolved. Not all of them are capable of achieving the desired results in terms of a vast client base and lots of money. Sometimes when a company fails to engage more and more consumers, it opts for undercover marketing strategies to touch the peaks of success in a short time. What Sony Ericsson has done in the past is unjustifiable. The company was better to opt for other marketing strategies to generate huge revenues, but getting false actors and actresses involved in its promotional campaign made no sense at all (Kennett & Matthews, 2008).
Unfortunately, it was not the end of the story; for some years, almost all reputable brands are said to be involved in this unethical marketing tactic. In fact, complaints against a few of them have already been submitted to the court. But the question is “can someone justify undercover or stealth marketing?” Honestly speaking, it is the right of every consumer to know what is being sold to him and what brand he is going to spend money on. In 2011, Vincent P. Magnini published an article titled The Implications of Company‐Sponsored Messages Disguised as Word‐of‐Mouth in which it was mentioned that undercover marketing could be a way to gain reputation or achieve success. However, it can neither benefit the company nor its representatives in the long run (Magnini, 2011).
As of now, no measures have been taken by the state or federal government in this regard. Despite the fact that a lot of ethical dilemmas are associated with stealth or under...