PF
Flyers:
I
Didn’t Jump Higher or Run Faster
I remember
the commercial as if it was yesterday, Johnny Quest racing against time to save
“Race Bannon” from the lava flowing jaws of an exploding volcano, and almost certain
death (TV Toy Memories, 2013). Thanks to the technology of the day, a flashing
decoder ring, and the design genius of “B.F. Goodrich”, Johnny is able to grab
a rope, “run like the wind”, and jump as high as an antelope in order to
execute a miraculous save (TV Toy Memories, 2013). It was one of my most favorite
Saturday morning cartoons and like many six year old girls, I had to have my
own PF Flyers; and, of course, flashing decoder ring. PF Flyers were the
Reeboks and Nikes of my childhood. I remember pleading in earnest with my
mother until the day came she took me shopping for my very own PF Flyers. Finally!
My wants, and at the time, my needs, to own a pair of “action shoes” complete
with an “action wedge – built right in” had been successfully fulfilled by the
marketing team at B.F. Goodrich (TV Toy Memories, 2013). Did I run faster, jump
higher? Sadly, no; but, I never forgot my PF Flyers.
El Sayed
and El Ghazaly (n.d.) observe that marketing revolves “around a powerful entity…
“the customer””. Marketing is the tool used to determine customers’ wants and
needs and then provide the services and products to quell and keep customers
satisfied. If marketing is but one tool in a corporation’s tool box; then can
we not view this tool as any other tool found in a tool box? A hammer is a
tool, is it evil? A knife in a kitchen drawer is a tool, is it evil? A piano
wire, when struck provides melodious music, is it evil? If the hammer is grabbed
and used to repeatedly strike a person in the head, is the hammer held up as
evil, or is it the person holding; and, thereby swinging the hammer who is
evil? Similar arguments lead us to ask if the person who does the stabbing, or
the mob boss who strangles with a piano wire is the evil one, and not the tool
of choice. Perhaps the question to consider should be, “Is the marketer evil”?
LaFollette
(2007) contends a conversation about morality must include “everyday ethics:
the ways in which we talk, listen, treat, behave with and around our friends,
family, colleagues, neighbors, and brief acquaintances” (p. 199). “Unless I
care about others, I will not standardly act morally” (LaFollette, 2007, p.
201). Is this the key to ethical marketing? Does the marketer need to care
about the person(s) to whom a product or service is being marketed? When
prompted to respond to a blip about his blog, Godin (2009) asks, “Are marketers
evil?” and answers “some of them”. Is it evil to market housing deals and
mortgage rates to those who will wind up in foreclosure (Godin, 2009)? Is it
evil to portray a cartoon character as cool simply because he smokes cigarettes
and target kids for smoking (Godin, 2009)? If advertising to plus size women
makes “obesity acceptable” is that marketing ploy evil (Godin, 2009)? As with
any tool, the effect “comes from the craftsman, not the tool” (Godin, 2009).
According to Godin (2009), more marketing and its influence can be attained with
fewer dollars. With more impact available for less, what do marketers do, or what
should they do with the equivalent of a faster, more powerful tool (Godin,
2009)?
As outlined
by Marketing-Schools (2012), the problem and relationship presented by doing
what’s right and making a profit “has been studied… with little consensus
reached”. As they continue, they note unethical marketing can be “just as
effective as it is unethical”; yet, “unethical behavior is not necessarily
against the law”. Look at the diet pill industry. Sneaky business models continue
to result in thriving businesses (Marketing-Schools, 2012). Dove soap attempted
ethical marketing when they launched their “real” models campaign which
featured “realistic body images” and was meant to help girls embrace how their
bodies looked; however, they did not maintain this approach and reverted back
to using supermodels whose images were enhanced to “hide imperfections” (Marketing-Schools,
2012). Is this evil? Do consumers have an obligation to become knowledgeable of
“relevant facts” in order to “make the appropriate moral decision” (LaFollette,
2007, p. 200)? Did Dove market its soap as a way to achieve a body style or as
a way to clean the body?
Godin
(2009) notes the good side of marketing helped people to decide to “get a polio
vaccine” or understand the need to wash hands before returning to tasks such as
surgery or serving food. El Sayed and El Ghazaly (n.d.) point out marketing
tools “have been used to achieve morally dubious ends by businesses”. Again, is
it the tool, marketing, or the marketer that performs the act regarded as good
or evil? Marketing-Schools (2012) suggest “a delicate balance” between the truth
and the persuasion of the customer is needed. If due consideration of the
company, its markets, and its clients is given; and if profits can be
maintained; then companies can take advantage of the advantages from ethical
marketing (Marketing-Schools, 2012). Improving one’s public image and
reputation is a great way to connect with customers and promote social
responsibility and is often used as a way to separate a company from its
competition. Whole Foods Market and The Body Shop are two such examples wherein
the “marketer and consumer are both aware of what’s happening and are both
satisfied with the ultimate outcome” (Godin, 2009).
Was it evil
to take the camel from Camel’s cigarettes, make him “Joe Camel” and cool and
specifically target kids, especially when they knew of the dangers associated
with smoking? Yes. Are all marketing pronouncements this simple? No. “Ethics
resides in a gray area with many fine lines and shifting boundaries”
(Marketing-Schools, 2012). Is it ethical to track my buying habits or is that
taking advantage of a faster, more powerful marketing tool? If used in a way that
demonstrates care for others, knowledge of how such actions affects others, understanding
of how others will behave, and an understanding of morally relevant facts; and,
if all of those variables produce positive results; then tracking my buying habits
or learning which websites I frequent is not evil. If; however, such actions take
on stalker behavior or qualities, then a line is crossed and a consumer would
do well to avoid business with such a company. For me, the guiding light to ethical
marketing is that of caring for others and the Golden Rule. As Godin (2009) notes just because I have a fast, powerful marketing tool doesn’t mean I need to use
it a full throttle. Treating others the way I would want to be treated as a customer
is how I view ethical aspects of marketing. LaFollette (2007) concludes, "The primary aim of moral thinking is to help us be less cruel, more caring, fairer, and more just - in short, to make this a morally better world" (p. 208). Sounds like a good rule of thumb when considering marketing decisions. Was B.F. Goodrich evil to market PF
Flyers and the flashing decoder ring to a young sixth grader who waited with
anticipation, each Saturday morning, to watch Johnny Quest? No, of course not.
I never was a fast runner, or someone who could jump high.
References
El Sayed, H., & El Ghazaly,
I. (n.d.). Is Marketing Evil? Marketing Viewed as a tool.
Ethics Based Marketing – German University
in Cairo. Retrieved from
Godin, S. (2009, Feb. 23). Is
Marketing Evil? Typepad.com. Retrieved
from
LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing.
Marketing-Schools. (2012).
Ethical Marketing. Marketing-Schools.org.
Retrieved from
TV Toy Memories. (2013, July 4).
Vintage Johnny Quest PF Flyer Commercial – Saving Race
Bannon
from Death Because of PF Flyers. [Video file]. Retrieved from
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