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Advertising Controversial Products in the Asia Pacific: What Makes Them Offensive?

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Abstract

The advertising of controversial products/services and the use of controversial images to "cut through the clutter" in the marketplace appears to be increasing around the world. However, apart from the general ethical issue regarding the deliberate use of controversial/offensive images for public viewing that may offend some people, it is important to determine what makes a controversial advertisement offensive? A questionnaire was distributed to 1014 students across four different countries in the Asia Pacific region to determine what type of products are seen as offensive and the reasons they are offensive. The results present some important implications for international marketers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Kim Shyan Fam

  2. School of Marketing, University of Technology, Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia

    David S. Waller

Authors
  1. Kim Shyan Fam
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  2. David S. Waller
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Fam, K.S., Waller, D.S. Advertising Controversial Products in the Asia Pacific: What Makes Them Offensive?. Journal of Business Ethics 48, 237–250 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000005785.29778.83

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000005785.29778.83

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