Persuasion Ethics Today

Book excerpt: Persuasion Ethics Today explores persuasive communication in the fields of advertising, promotions, public relations and integrated marketing communication, and is designed for course use in advertising curricula. Ethical questions have become increasingly important in today’s media landscape, and issues of regulation, privacy, and convenience are the subjects of heated debate among consumers, industry professional, policy makers, and interest groups. With the explosion of social media, mobile devices, tracking technologies, and behavioral targeting, the ethical issues about persuasion continue to increase in importance. This book’s goal is to offer a broad introduction to the ethical standards, challenges, understanding, and decision-making strategies involved in the practice of persuasion. Persuasion Ethics Today links real world persuasive communication activities to fundamental philosophies of ethics. It also offers tools for students and practitioners to engage with ethical dilemmas in a systematic way, and jumpstart debates about the right ethical choices in an increasingly complex media and social environment.