The Dilemma of Ethics in Advertising in Pakistan: An Islamic Perspective
Abstract
This paper analyzes the dilemma of ethics regarding the promotion of foreign culture as opposed to local cultural values by the advertising industry in Pakistan from the Islamic perspective. Advertisers rely on the western business models, disregarding the Islamic business models or ethics that understate exaggeration of the user, consumer, or product attributes. The absence of the advertising ordinance or state control facilitates this manipulation process. The control is an independent variable while culture and emotion are dependent variables whose coupling links the emotions and actions of westernized models to those of traditional viewers. The study assumes the advertiser negatively influences Pakistani culture and conduct of young women due to a lack of governmental guidelines for producing advertisements from an Islamic cultural perspective. The researchers used a quantitative research design for collecting data from 250 university students from three universities at Lahore and Karachi through an online survey questionnaire. The regression analysis shows correlation among control, culture and emotions. The results show the youth believes the advertiser influences young women’s conduct in the absence of the state control over Pakistani advertising agencies for promoting the Islamic code of conduct, culture and business model, or to sort out the ethical dilemma.
Authors
Hassan Ali Maan
PhD Scholar, School of Media & Mass Communication, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Wajiha Raza Rizvi
Associate Professor, School of Media & Mass Communication, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan