As brand manager for Kelcie’s potato chips, we feel that it is only right to be 100% transparent in our packaging of potato chips and be honest with the customer that our portion size has decreased by adding a disclaimer on the packaging. We will keep the price the same and even use the same packaging size, but we will simply put fewer chips in each bag. Even though the customer will (probably) not notice that the portion size has decreased, as shown in the AMA Code of Ethics we have a responsibility to “avoid false, misleading and deceptive promotions”, and to avoid “sales tactics that could harm our customer’s trust”. That is why we feel that a strict adherence to the AMA’s Code of Ethic’s transparency guidelines to “create a spirit of openness in marketing operations” is only fair and our ethical responsibility as marketers.
Truth in advertising is not only important but if the company is caught trying to advertise their product as more than it actually is, this can have a negative effect on the company’s overall image. This can be seen in the recent lawsuit of Subway who was marketing their sandwiches as “footlongs”, when in fact, they were only 11.5 inches long. This false advertising resulted in not only a lawsuit, but a major loss in their customer base and a loss of trust in Subway’s advertising and
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before cooking, yet after being grilled the burger patty cooked down to 2.8 oz. forcing McDonald’s to add a disclaimer that their burger was a quarter pound of beef prior to cooking. It now uses 4.25 oz.’s of ground beef yet when cooked still comes out at roughly 3 oz. McDonald’s wanted to avoid any bad press, and wanted to be truthful in its advertising. Instead of trying to “trick” the public with misleading advertising or deceptive promotions they informed their customer base that the precooked patty was a quarter pound and that the finished product was