Argument Against Subliminal Messaging

I would make the argument against using subliminal messaging with our advertising. It is not only unethical, illegal in some countries, but many times has proven unsuccessful. It's immoral as I'd be using trickery in order to sell my product. If I were to utilize this advertising method, I would not only be risking my company's reputation, but also my own personal ethics. If we couldn't sell our products with a simple straightforward advertising campaign, then I feel we need to re-examine our products. I would rather spend money trying to figure out what products need improving or phasing out rather than deceitful advertising.

On a personal level, I feel if I endorsed the advertising method that it wouldn't bother me right away, but eventually I would start questioning my principles. It would especially bother me if I had children. I would be hypocritical as I'd expect them to be honest, but yet in order to sell something I wasn't being truthful.

It's also illegal in some countries, so if we're a global company we could face legal issues if we're found to be doing this practice. Thus the news would more than likely reach our North American consumers and then they would know we were being dishonest. We wouldn't necessary face legal repercussions in the United States, but our credibility would be shot due to our legal problems overseas. If I were an owner and CEO of the company, I'd expect my views to be understood and a new advertising campaign to be thought up along with studies on why are products aren't selling. If I was just the CEO of a large corporation and even though I provided valid reasons for not using subliminal messaging in our advertising they decided to use it anyway. I would more than likely look at resigning from the company and find a company that has similar values to mine, because if we didn't agree on this what other business issues would we not agree on later.

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