Is it ethical to exploit cultural norms and value to promote a product?
The determination whether exploitation of cultural norms and values to promote a product is ethical or not is guided by the three ethical principles which provide a framework to help a business or market distinguish between right and wrong, determine what ought to be done and properly justify such actions. These principles are: Utilitarian ethics, Rights of the parties- this probe into the question; does the action respect the rights of the individuals involved and Justice or fairness- this answers the question; does the action respect the canons of justice or fairness to all parties involved Using these three basic ethical principles to assess how ethical it is to exploit cultural norms and values to promote a product, we will say that if cultural norms and values are exploited to promote a product in a socially responsible and positive manner is ethical but in the case of Hindustan Lever Ltd we will say is not ethical. So HLL‟s huge series of campaign that centered on the “fair girl gets the men ‟s attention” theme is unethical. On the other Caven Kare‟s Fair ever counter promotional strategy was more positive and socially responsible. Technically speaking that is an ethical exploitation of cultural norms and values. HLL is not ethical in its approach but we believe Cavin Kare ltd appeared to be ethical and socially responsible in its own approach.