Abstract
Political advertising has long been a target for criticism regarding unethical behaviour. This study looks at the attitudes of Australian advertising agency executives and politicians towards ethical issues relating to political advertising. A sample of 101 advertising agency executives and 46 federal politicians were compared and some attitudinal differences were found, which could be areas of tension in the agency-client relationship.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous: 1977, 'Election Ads Just Don't Add Up', Australian Financial Review (1 December), 22.
Australian Electoral Commission: 1993, Truth in Political Advertising-Supplementary Submission To The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (AEC, Canberra), October.
Banker, Steve: 1992, 'The Ethics of Political Marketing Practices, The Rhetorical Perspective', Journal of Business Ethics 11(11), 843-848.
Burbury, Rochelle: 1995, 'Ball in Liberal Court But Match Point for M&H', Sydney Morning Herald (6 April), 40.
Franklin, B.: 1994, Packaging Politics: Political Communications in Britain's Media Democracy (Edward Arnold, London).
Hill, David B.: 1984, 'Political Campaigns and Madison Avenue: A Wavering Partnership', Journal of Advertising 13(3), 21-26, 58.
Hornery, Andrew: 1997, 'Liberals Seek Top Team for NSW Poll', Sydney Morning Herald (25 September), 28.
Jones, Megan: 1993, 'Libs Blame Ads For Loss', B&T Weekly (2 April), 5, 37.
Kaid, Lynda L., Dan Nimmo and Keith R. Sanders (eds.): 1986, New Perspectives on Political Advertising (Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL).
Kaid, Lynda Lee and Christina Holtz-Bacha, 1995: Political Advertising in Western Democracies (Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA).
King, Madonna: 1993, 'Ad Campaign Was A Disaster: Lib Leader', The Australian (29 March), 2.
Larkin, John: 1995, 'Why We Lost: Barry', Sunday Telegraph (21 May), 29.
Lawson, Valerie: 1993, 'GST: The Hydra That Ate Its Own Ad Campaign', Australian Financial Review (6 April), 22.
McCamish, Justin: 1993, 'Letter to Editor', The Australian (2 April), 12.
McLaughlin, Leigh: 1987, 'Exception is Rule for Political Advertising', The Australian (6 July), 21.
Mills, Stephen and Christine Wallace: 1993, 'Manna From Canada', Australian Financial Review (19 March, Weekend), 1, 3.
Murphy, Claire: 1995, 'Liars for Hire: How the Fahey Bunch Lost the NSW Ad Battle', Ad News (7 April), 14-15.
Newman, Bruce I. and Jagdish N. Sheth (eds.): 1985, Political Marketing: Readings and Annotated Bibliography (American Marketing Association, Chicago).
Robinson, P.: 1993, 'Liberal Party Shooting the Messenger', The Australian (2 April), 12.
Solender, Thomas J.: 1998, 'Election Reflects', B&T Weekly (2 October), 10.
Terry, Peter: 1982, 'Political Advertising Legislation Scrapped', The Australian (31 December), 8.
Wallace, Christine: 1995, 'Howard Must Control the Image Makers-As Ads Can Also Detract', Australian Financial Review (30 January), 16.
Waller, David S. and Michael J. Polonsky: 1999, 'Student Attitudes Towards Political Advertising and Issues: A Cross-Cultural Study', International Journal of Consumer Marketing 11(2), 79-98.
Waller, David S. and Michael J. Polonsky: 1996, '"Everybody Hide, An Election Is Coming!" An Examination Why Australian Ad Agencies Refuse Political Accounts', International Journal of Advertising 15(1), 61-74.
Walsh, Kerry-Anne and Nick Richardson: 1995, 'Politicians: How Low Can They Go?', The Bulletin (12 September), 14-17.
Warneford, Penny: 1993, 'Election Ads Helped Libs Lose', Ad News (26 March), 15-16.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Waller, D.S. Advertising Agency-client Attitudes Towards Ethical Issues in Political Advertising. Journal of Business Ethics 36, 347–354 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014456012599
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014456012599