See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/256039000

Ethical Aspects in the Advertising of Fairness Creams

Article · November 2012

CITATIONS READS

2 13,102

2 authors:

Raghava Rao Gundala Kavita Chavali

University of Wisconsin - Parkside Dhofar University
17 PUBLICATIONS   131 CITATIONS    43 PUBLICATIONS   373 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Liquidity Analysis of Select Firms Listed in Muscat Securities Market – Sultanate of Oman View project

Sustainable Development and innovation View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Raghava Rao Gundala on 12 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Ethical Aspects
in the Advertising of Fairness Creams

Raghava Rao Gundala* and Kavita Chavali**

Although a significant amount of research on advertising ethics and the use of fear
appeals in advertising has been conducted, very little attention has been paid to the
ethical aspect of advertising fairness products. Several ideas regarding advertising
ethics and use of fear appeals for advertising form the background of this study.
Interestingly, India being the biggest fairness product market, neither the marketers
nor the consumers have taken a serious note of ethics involved in the advertisements
of fairness products. Similarly, not many studies have been carried out to understand
whether consumers perceive these advertisements as ethical or otherwise. This
study, made in the city of Visakhapatnam, indicates that advertisements of fairness
products are indeed considered unethical, and one of the primary reasons for this is
the strategy of using fear appeal in advertisements. The respondents futher confirmed
racial discrimination and gender discrimination as the primary reasons for the
advertisements to be viewed as unethical. Finally, advertisements of fairness products
are considered deceptive by some of the respondents.

Introduction are under scrutiny. Moral and ethical

standards were proposed to restrict the
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair…..”, so goes
range of products, services, and practices
the incantation by the three witches in
that can be advertised. Nevertheless, the
Shakespeare’s famous play, ‘Macbeth’. The
problem still persists.
relevance of this is all too apparent in the
fairness products industry in India. While One of the questions discussed while
a significant amount of research has been analyzing the ethical aspects of advertising
conducted on advertising ethics and the is the use of fear appeals and threat to
use of fear appeals, only a few have paid popularize a certain product, concept, etc.,
their attention to the ethical aspects of or to boost up the sales. The idea of using
advertising fairness products . fear to advertise a certain product is
viewed as unethical if the solution that is
Advertising is one of the most powerful
advertised cannot eliminate the threat
marketing tools, which enhances
presented (Spence and Moinpour 1972;
communication by connecting the
Treise et al. 1994; La Tour et al. 1996; Shiv
company with the customer. Recently,
et al. 1997). This holds true as long as
however, the ethical aspects of the practice
About the Authors
* Associate Professor, Americanos College, Nicosia, Cyprus. E-mail: rao.gundala@ac.ac.cy
* * Faculty Member, ICFAI National College, Visakhapatnam. E-mail: kavita_chavali@yahoo.co.in

© 2005 The ICFAI University Press. All Rights Reserved.

60 The ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, November 2005
advertisers show the consequences of not
paying heed to the recommendations
offered in the advertisements(Spence and
Moinpour, 1972; La Tour et al. 1996.
Furthermore, using fear appeals and threats
is considered unethical as they might create
unnecessar y anxiety among potential
customers (Spence and Moinpour 1972;
Duke et al. 1993; La Tour et al. 1996).
However, some people support the idea of
using fear for marketing purposes. They
claim that such advertisements reflect the
norms of a certain society (Duke et al. 1993).
This study aims at analyzing the ethical
issues related to the advertising of fairness
products and the fear appeals used therein.
These advertisements often reflect vivid racial
discrimination, which is a reason to question
the ethical aspects of these advertisements.
Besides the industry background and the
ethical issues that are relevant, the study
examines customers’ perceptions of the
fairness products and the impact of their
opinion on the use of the product.
Objectives
The study is made with the following
objectives:
(1) To understand the common issues
related to ethical issues in advertising
(2) To present a brief profile of the fairness
products industr y and identify the
ethical issues that can be tracked in
the advertising of these products
(3) To analyze customers’ awareness and
brand preferences of fairness products
(4) To understand customers’ attitudes and
perceptions related to the ethical
aspects of the fairness products
advertising.
Methodology
A structured questionnaire is used to collect
the primary data. A convenient random
Ethical Aspects in Advertising of Fairness Creams
sample of 75 respondents, all females aged
between 18 and 35, from the city of
Visakhapatnam, India, were asked to fill
the questionnaire consisting of both
open- and close-ended questions.
Secondary data has been collected from
journals, magazines, Internet and several
other documented material.
In consequence, the primary data was
analyzed using simple percentages. The
analysis is made on the collected data and
the suggestions and recommendations
offered wherever necessary.
Advertising Ethics
It is argued that of all business practices,
marketing “receives the most scrutiny,
generates the most controversy, and faces
the most criticism about ethics”
(Singhapakdi et al. 1999). Indeed, ethics
might turn out to be a rather tricky
question as long as it is expanded not only
to one domain, but also to several areas.
Waller (1999) reveals a list of 15 products/
services (given below in alphabetical order),
which fall into the category of “controversial
advertising”.
(1) Alcohol
(2) Cigarettes
(3) Condoms
(4) Female contraceptives
(5) Female hygiene products
(6) Female underwear
(7) Funeral services
(8) Gambling
(9) Male underwear
(10)Pharmaceuticals
(11)Political parties
61
(12) Racially extremist groups
(13) Religious denominations
(14) Sexual diseases
(15) Weight loss programs.
According to Waller (1999), advertising
of racially extremist groups was the most
offensive and unethical. The most
important reason for this is the fact that
these advertisements are racist in form and
spirit. Zinkhan (1994) emphasizes that
advertising ethics could be broadly
attributed to seven topics given as follows:
(1) Using deceptive advertisements
(2) Advertising for children
(3) Tobacco advertising
(4) Alcoholic beverages advertising
(5) Negative political advertising
(6) Racial stereotyping
(7) Sexual stereotyping.
Both racial and sexual stereotyping can
be deciphered while viewing fairness
products advertisements as they generally
emphasize the importance of being fair and
target mostly women. In neither of the
above-mentioned studies can one find
references to the ethical aspects of using
fear in advertising. Nevertheless, there are
sources (Arthur and Quester, 2003) which
have the element of fear in their focus. In
the analysis of fairness products, this is very
important as advertisements generally
imply the fear of being unsuccessful in
personal and profesional lives unless one
has a fair skin to flaunt.
Industry Profile
The Indian cosmetics and toiletries market
accounts for Rs. 3,000 cr, of which the
skincare segment boasts of Rs. 1,200 cr with
62 The ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, November 2005
a gross of Rs. 700 cr from fairness products
only. Further, the fairness products market
yields an income equal to 40% of the entire
Indian cosmetic industry with an annual
growth rate of 10%-15%. The three top
growing markets have been reported to be
Kerala, Gujarat and Bihar. The market has
to offer a variety of brands provided by both
local and foreign companies. The top eight
brands of fairness products available in the
Indian market are as follows:
(1) Fair and Lovely Fairness Cream by
Hindustan Lever Limited
(2) Fairever by CavinKare
(3) FairGlow by Godrej
(4) Garnier Light by Garnier
(5) No Marks by Ozone Ayurvedics
(6) Himalaya Fairness Cream by Himalaya
Drug Company
(7) Emami Naturally Fair by Emami
(8) Fair & Glow by Revlon.
The market shares of the main players
in the industry are: (1) Hindustan Lever
Limited’s Fair and Lovely Fairness Cream
(53%), (2) CavinKare’s Fairever Fairness
Cream (12%), (3) Godrej FairGlow (3.5%).
Hindustan Lever Limited, as the biggest
manufacturer of fairness products in India,
owns the Fair and Lovely brand, which is
extended to the following products:
• Fair and Lovely Ayurvedic Fairness
Cream
• Fair and Lovely Fairness Cream for Deep
Skin
• Fair and Lovely Oil-Control Fairness
Gel
• Fair and Lovely Anti-marks Cream
• Fair and Lovely Fairness Soap
• Fair and Lovely Fairness Lotion
• Fair and Lovely Fairness Face Wash
• Fair and Lovely Dark Circle Cream.
Being one of the fastest growing
industries, the new entrants are likely to
face a rather tough competition. Even the
companies that are already in the field have
to face it by using powerful marketing tools
such as advertising. However, the ethical
aspects of the latter is under question as
discussed further in this paper.
Fairness Products Advertising
Advertisements of fairness products
generally target consumers, particularly
women with dark skin or with skin problems
such as blemishes, dark circles, dark spots,
etc. These advertisements, more or less,
follow a common scenario:
1. In the beginning, a girl with dark skin
is shown. She is unhappy as others
‘reject’ her because of her skin shade and
she is unsuccessful in her personal and
professional lives.
2. Generally, the girl is shown as being rejected
for a job or for a marriage proposal.
3. Then the girl uses the advertised product
and different shades of her skin are
shown as it changes from dark to fair.
4. The advertisements usually end by
depicting a radical change in the life of
the person due to the use of the given
fairness product.
Two popular advertisements of the Fair
and Lovely Fairness Cream are as follows:
Advertisement 1:
Sequence 1: An old man is heard
complaining to his wife that he would
rather have a son than a daughter, implying
that this would allow him to sit back and
have a cup of coffee. His daughter, who is
of a dark complexion, hears this and runs
Ethical Aspects in Advertising of Fairness Creams
to her room to have a look at herself in the
mirror...and she is definitely dissatisfied
with her appearance.
Sequence 2: The girl finds the “magic
potion” (Fair and Lovely) which helps her
to become an airhostess and take her
parents to a five-star restaurant for a cup
of coffee.
Advertisement 2:
Sequence 1: The parents of a girl are
anxiously looking through the photographs
of prospective grooms for their daughter.
Finally, the photograph of a stout, dark,
old man is pulled out with the comment
that there is nothing else to be expected
referring to the fact that the girl’s skin
shade is dark.
Sequence 2: The girl uses Fair and Lovely
Fairness Cream and she meets a handsome man
with the comment that “her fate has changed”.
Such advertisements appeal to
customers with set notions, which on a
deeper analysis can be classified as
unethical. First, vivid racial discrimination
is illustrated as the advertisers convey that
only persons with fair skin can be
successful. As these advertisements target
women, the question of sexual stereotyping
arises. Secondly, these advertisements target
the customers by causing fear in them
through misleadingly threatening messages.
The use of threatening messages as such
is not a new concept in the area of
advertising. In contrast, such appeals are
used on purpose, as advertising research
continuously confirms the fact that
emotional messages are better remembered
than those that are not (Biener and Taylor,
2002). In the case of advertisements of
fairness products , fear might be one of the
emotions experienced. In turn, the term fear
is thought of as being a primitive instinct
63
that activates and guides human behavior by Fair and Lovely Soap (84%) and Fair
by creating anxiety and tension and lead Glow fairness Soap (77%). The other
people to look for ways out of the situation fairness products, though existing in the
(La Tour and Zahra, 1989). market, are apparently not popular with
the respondents. In the circumstances, it
In such a way, it has been argued that
can be concluded that Fair and Lovely is
making use of threatening appeals to
the market leader, and all the other fairness
persuade the public is an unethical practice
products are following the market leader
that is extensively used in advertising.
in designing their marketing activities in
Hence, little attention has been paid to the
general and advertisements in particular,
ethical aspects of the practice (Duke et al.
as it generally happens in any given market.
1993). Based on theoretical material, this
study aims to understand whether the Though all of the respondents
research data supports or reject the claims. interviewed are aware of the fairness
products,only a small percentused them.
Data Collection and Analysis Table 2 summarizes the respondents’ usage
The data has been collected by distributing and, surprisingly, only 28% of the
a questionnaire where the respondents had respondents are using fairness products,
to choose the answer that seemed more while the majority, which constitutes 72%,
appropriate to them. The analysis of the does not use any.
respondents’ answers is as follows:
Table 2: Usage of Fairness Products
Table 1 depicts the brand awareness of
Usage Status No. of (%)
fairness products. From this Table it is
Respondents
evident that Fair Lovely Fairness cream is
Yes 21 28
the most popular cream (100%) followed
No 54 72
Table 1: Brand Awareness of Fairness Total 75 100
Products
In turn, those who reported using a
Brand Name No. of %
fairness product named the brand that they
Respondents
Fair and Lovely 75 100 were using and their responses are shown
Fairness Cream in Table 3. When it comes to usage of
Fair and Lovely 41 55 fairness products, once again respondents
Oil-Control preferred Fair and Lovely (86%), followed
Fairever 56 75 by CavinKare’s Fairever (14%). The rest
Fairever Mantra 12 16 of the products, though existing in the
Himalaya Fairness Cream 37 49
Table 3: Fairness Products’
Emami Naturally Fair 47 63
Brand Preferences
Santoor Everyoung 19 25
Skinfair by Ozone 5 7 Brand No. of (%)
Respondents
Garnier Light 25 33
Vatika Fairness Pack 34 45 Fair and Lovely 18 86

Fair and Lovely Soap 63 84 Fairever 3 14

Fair Glow Fairness Soap 58 77 Total 21 100

64 The ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, November 2005

market, were neither used by the advertised are exaggerated, while only 5%
respondents nor nor did the respondents think that the results advertised can be
show any inclination towards using them. trusted. The rest do not have an answer to
the question.
Respondents are asked to comment on
the satisfaction derived from the fairness Do advertisements influence the
product, and Table 4 summarized the purchase decision? Table 6 summarizes the
result. From the table, it is concluded that respondents’ opinion. Around 55% of the
most of the users (81%) are satisfied with respondents feel that they are being
the product, while the other 19% are not.
The same figures and percentages were Table 6: Influence of Advertisements
obtained when asking the interviewees on Purchase Decision
whether they have experienced any Response No. of %
changes in their complexion. Those who Respondents
did were the ones who are satisfied with Yes 41 55
the product they used. No 22 29
Table 4: Customers’ Satisfaction Not always 12 16
with the Product Used
Total 75 100
Response No. of %
influenced by the advertisements of fairness
Respondents
products in some way or the other. This data
Satisfied 17 81 is very important as long as one is interested
Not satisfied 4 19 in the ethical aspects of these advertisements
Total 21 100 in general and fear appeals in particular.

Does the usage of fairness product
change the complexions? Are the results
shown in the advertisements mere
exaggerations? Can they be trusted? These
are questions everyone has in their mind
and the same is asked to the respondents.
The respondents using fairness products
opined on the same, as given in Table 5.
The data above clearly shows that the
majority of our respondents, which
constitute 83%, think that the results
Majority of the respondents feel that they
are influenced by the advertisements. Many
respondents also expressed that these
advertisements are exaggerations. Nevertheless,
use of color, fear of non-achievement and
non-acceptance in the society that is used
without hesitance by advertisements of
fairness product, does invoke an ethical
dilemma in ever yone’s mind. The
respondents’ opinions on this dilemma are
presented in Table 7. The table clearly

Table 5: Customers’ Response Table 7: Customers Response

to the Question whether the Results to whether Fairness Products Ads
are Exaggerated or Not are Ethical or Not
Response No. of % Respondents
Response No. of %
Respondents Ethical 15 20
Yes 62 83 Unethical 56 75
No 4 5 Cannot say 4 5
Cannot say 9 12
Total 75 100
Total 75 100

Ethical Aspects in Advertising of Fairness Creams 65

reveals the fact that 75% of the respondents
view advertisements of fairness products
as unethical, while 20% think that these
are ethical and only 5% do not have a clear
opinion on the ethical aspects.
All of the respondents who think that
fairness products advertisements are
unethical reason out that that these
advertisements are racist (discrimination of
people based on skin color) as presented in
Table 8. Further more, 88% of the
interviewees find them sexist, followed by
45% who think the advertisements are
threatening and 36% who think that they
Table 8: Response to Name Reasons
as to Why these Ads
were Considered Unethical
(Respondents were allowed
to choose several reasons)
Response No. of % Findings and Suggestions
Respondents
Deceptive 20 36
Racist 56 100
Sexist 49 88
Threatening 25 45
Other Reasons 2 4
are deceptive. As many as 4% of the
respondents named two other reasons.
They think that these advertisements
corrupt the minds of the young people,
biasing them against those with dark skin
and they do not disclose enough
information about the dangers of over-use
of the fairness products.
On viewing the fairness product
advertisements, do people experience fear
of rejection due to their skin shade?
Table 9 summarizes the respondents’
answers. Yes, say 87% of the respondents.
The respondents reveal that they do
experience the fear of being rejected because
of their skin shade after viewing
66 The ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, November 2005
Table 9: Customers Response
to whether they Experience the Fear
of Being Rejected after Viewing
a Fairness Product Advertisement
Response No. of %
Respondents
Yes 65 87%
No 4 5%
Not always 6 8%
Total 75 100%
advertisements of fairness products. Out of
the remaining 13%, 8% do not always
experience fear and 5% do not experience
fear at all. This data is a clear indication
of the fact that fairness products
advertisements trigger emotions like fear
and threat of being rejected in some way
or the other.
This study reveals several important
findings. First, Fair and Lovely Fairness
Cream has turned out to be the most
recognizable brand. Out of those who were
indeed users of fairness products gave
preference to this brand. One of the primary
reasons for this is because it is the oldest
brnd in the market that has survived for a
long time.
Most of the users were satisfied with the
product and have experienced a change in
complexion due to the usage of the product.
Nevertheless, the majority of all the
interviewees think that the results
advertised are deceptive as the effects are
exaggerated. Also, the respondents feel that
fairness product advertisements influence
them in making their purchase decision.
Most of the respondents have agreed
that advertising fairness products is an
unethical practice. When asked to name
the reasons of having such an opinion, all
of the respondents have agreed that the
advertisements suggested racial
discrimination. The other reasons are sexual
discrimination, threat of being rejected,
and making deceptive claims.
A very interesting finding, however, is
the fact that most of the respondents react
with fear after viewing an advertisement
of a fairness product . This allows us to
conclude that such advertisements indeed
evoke fear and threat among consumers.
In this case, these simply convey that one
will be rejected unless the recommendations
offered by the advertisements are followed.
In order to respond to these findings
there are several suggestions that can be
taken into consideration. To begin, the
advertisements that openly show racial or
sexual discrimination should be banned,
and those advertisements that threaten the
customers in some way or the other should
be restricted.
As alternative to these appeals,
advertisers should emphasize other
priorities of their products such as
protecting the skin from possible damage,
sunburns and other. They might also stress
the health and cleanliness of the skin rather
than its color.
Conclusion
The findings of this particular study
indicate that even those who use them may
consider fairness products advertisements
unethical. This fact should act as a warning
to marketers and advertisers when
designing their commercials. Some previous
Ethical Aspects in Advertising of Fairness Creams
studies (Zinkhan, 1994; Waller, 1999)
also suggest that racial and sexual
discrimination, which are vivid in
advertisements of fairness products, are
considered by most of the customers as
unethical.
Moreover, this study discovers that
fairness product advertisements arouse
feelings of fear and threat among the
customers, which is again a reason why
these are thought of as unethical. The
marketers should also consider this, as it
is hard to say which particular factors
drive individuals when making ethical
judgments (Arthur and Quester, 2003).
It is also recommended that pre-testing of
advertising campaigns which contain
threatening messages, should be done
before fully launching those (Arthur and
Quester, 2003).
As it generally happens, this study
contains several limitations. First, the study
relies on a sample of 75 respondents and
the findings cannot be generalized to all
the customers. Moreover,, it is limited to
the city of Visakhapatnam. Secondly,
respondents might be biased while
responding to the questions. Finally, ethical
values are hard to standardize and may vary
from one person to another, which is inevitably
the reason for the various responses.
To conclude, the study gives a clear idea
of the fact that such fairness product
advertisements are able to trigger negative
emotions. It is thus a good issue for
marketers to think of while designing future
advertisement campaigns.%
Reference # 03J-2005-11-06-01
67
References
1. Arthur, D, and Quester, P, 2003. “The
Ethicality of Using Fear for Social
Advertising”. Australian Marketing
Journal, 11 (1), 12-25.
2. Biener, L, and Taylor, T M, 2002.
“ The Continuing Importance of
Emotion in Tobacco Control Media
Campaigns: A Response to Hastings
and MacFadyen”. Tobacco Control, 11
(1), 75-77.
3. Duke C R, Pickett, G M, Carlson, L,
Grove S J, 1993. “A Method for
Evaluating the Ethics of Fear Appeals”.
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing,
12 (1), 120-129.
4. La Tour, M S, Snipes, R L, Bliss, S J,
1996. “Don’t be Afraid to Use Fear
Appeals: An Experimental Study”.
Journal of Advertising Research, 36 (2),
59-67.
5. La Tour, M S, Zahra, S A , 1989.
“Fear Appeals as Advertising
Strategy: Should they be Uses?”
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 6 (2),
61-70.
68 The ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, November 2005
6. Shiv, B, Edell, J A, Payne, J, 1997.
“Factors Affecting the Impact of
Negatively and Positively Framed ad
Messages”. Journal of Consumer
Research, 24, 285-294.
7. Singhapakdi, A , Rawwas, M Y A ,
Marta, J K, Ahmed, M I, 1999.
“A Cross-cultural Study of Consumer
Perceptions About Marketing Ethics”.
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16 (3),
257-272.
8. Spence, H E, Moinpour, R, 1972.
“Fear Appeals in Marketing—A Social
Perspective”. Journal of Marketing, 36,
39-43.
9. Treise, D, Weigold, M F, Conna, J, and
Garrison, H, 1994. “Ethics in
Advertising: Ideological Correlates of
Consumer Perceptions”. Journal of
Advertising, 23 (3), 60-69.
10. Waller, D S, 1999. “Attitudes Towards
Offensive Advertising: An Australian
Study”. Journal of Consumer Marketing,
16 (3), 288-294.
11. Zinkhan, G M, 1994. “Advertising
Ethics: Emerging Methods and
Trends”. Journal of Advertising.
 The Questionnaire
Age:
(1) Please tick the fairness products that are familiar to you:

Fair and Lovely Fairness Cream

Fair and Lovely Oil-Control
Fairever
Fairever Mantra
Himalaya Fairness Cream
Emami Naturally Fair
Santoor Everyoung
Skinfair by Ozone
Garnier Light
Vatika Fairness Pack
Fair and Lovely Soap
Fair Glow Fairness Soap

(2) Do you use any fairness product? Yes: No:

* If you have answered "yes" please answer the following questions:
a) Specify the product that you are using ____________
b) Are you satisfied with the product? Yes: No:
c) Have you experienced any change in complexion due to the use of the product? Yes:
No:
(3) Do you think that the results advertised are exaggerated? Yes: No:
(4) Do you think that advertisers influence your purchase decisions? Yes: No:
(5) Are fairness products advertisements ethical to you? Yes: No:
* If you have answered "no" to this question please specify why?

Deceptive
Racist
Sexist
Threatening
Other Reasons

(6) After viewing a fairness product ad are you afraid of being rejected because of your
skin shade? Yes: No:

Ethical Aspects in Advertising of Fairness Creams 69

View publication stats