A Personal Choice Made Public

For the last few postings I have taken the side of the advertisers.  I believe that much of what we have been discussing is about ethical standards that could apply to just about any given commercial business.  Personal ethical standards, however, are what the issue is centered around in this particular case.  Boycotts and petitions, these are the kind of things that are consumer driven.  It begins and home and ends in the boardroom.  The typical cycle we think of when referencing advertising is reversed.  With that in mind, our thinking has to change accordingly.  That is why I agree most with the statement: it is not only ethical but responsible for consumers to organize boycotts of shows and advertisers that offend them.    

To start, I must say that I do not watch VH1, reason being that reality has never been so fake and immoral.  That just does not interest me in the slightest and those types of televisions show glamorize many of the things that I find vain and evil.  People are allowed to choose what programs they watch or avoid.  If there are enough consumers offended by a particular show or advertisement then I feel they should organize and present their claims and complaints to the agencies or regulating bodies that can make a difference.  I support the boycotts mentioned in the article and believe that it is the responsible thing to do for people who are offended to that degree (Rose, 2012).  And even if I disagreed with what they were boycotting against, they are guaranteed certain things according to the First Amendment of the Constitution which I stand by completely.  

Companies and consumers operate with difference ethical standards.  Consumers have to look out for their interests and despite the tenant of corporate social responsibility, companies are usually not willing to sacrifice major profit for unorganized ethical complaints (Do Boycotts Work?, 1992).  Once there is some type of established platform from which to launch a petition or boycott, this will garner, in the very least, a statement and, best case scenario, initiate the requested changes (Do Boycotts Work?, 1992).  

Companies only have as much power as the consumers yield them.  We know that understanding your audience is important.  Television shows and advertisers operate pretty much under these same conditions.  They have to appeal to the wider public or go out of business.  The consumers are doing the right thing by letting those groups know if there is a problem with what is being produced or sponsored.  In the end, if boycotts, petitions, and other formal procedures fail, we can always just turn the television off and stop supporting those sponsors.  

References      

Do Boycotts Work? (1992, July 5). Retrieved October 3, 2012, from The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1992/07/05/do-boycotts-work.html

Rose, S. (2012, May 1). Evelyn and Chad Boycott Petition Collects Thousands of Signatures. Retrieved October 3, 2012, from Sandra Rose: http://sandrarose.com/2012/05/evelyn-and-chad-boycott-petition-collects-thousands-of-signatures/