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Table of content:
1. Introduction:.................................................................................................................................2
2. Advertising Ethical Guidelines:....................................................................................................3
3. Unethical Advertising.......................................................................................................................4
4. Hoat Huyet Nhat Nhat advertising is offensive: people who do not use Hoat Huyet Nhat Nhat
products lose sleep because of the karma of not using the product.....................................................6
5. Some measures to limit unethical advertising:................................................................................9
6. Conclusion:.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference:...........................................................................................................................................11

1. Introduction:

Advertising is a type of communication that is used to encourage a certain set of individuals

to do something new. Advertising is frequently a paid kind of exposure supplied by a sponsor
and distributed through various traditional media such as television, commercial radio
advertising, display ads, or newspaper mail. As per the Worldwide Advertising Industry
Profile, the worldwide advertising industry is expected to be valued $90.4 billion in 2011,
representing a 28% increase over 2006.

In recent years, unethical advertising has been a major topic in the corporate world.
Consumers, business owners, managers, advertising agencies, and academics have all
expressed a desire to understand the distinction between real and false advertising.
Businesses exist to generate money, and advertising may assist a corporation in selling a
product. Advertising has played an important role in consumer marketing, helping firms to
achieve communication and other marketing goals. Advertising is frequently used to inform,
persuade, and remind people. (Raghbir Singh, 2007). Advertisements are used by businesses
to inform present and future customers about the qualities and benefits of their brand.
Advertising that is innovative, relevant, and accurate is highly important in today's culture.
Advertising is a fascinating branch of the marketing profession. Advertising, on the other
hand, must be both successful and distinctive in order to attract buyers. The advertising sector
has grown year after year in order to provide the most up-to-date details regarding the
product. Advertising can be used to market services, lost and found entertainment, land, and
other items in addition to products. Advertising may be channelled through media such as the
internet, radio, tv, banners, pamphlets, billboards, magazines, newspapers, and so on,

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depending on the inventiveness of an advertising business. However, at the moment, the
internet is the fastest source of media attention, reaction, and worry for many individuals (Bin
Nooh, 2014). Recently, advertising failed to pay attention to and raise awareness about their
method of delivering information to the public. As we know, advertising may have both
positive and bad effects, depending on how it is worded. Advertising is considered immoral
when it disparages a competitor's or substitute product, gives false or misleading information,
provides concise information that has a serious influence on human life (e.g., drug side
effects), makes exaggerated claims, is outrageous or immoral, or is against the public interest.
(Raghbir Singh, 2007).

In today's corporate world, the majority of circumstances encounter judgements about what is
"right" or ethical and what is "wrong" or unethical. To differentiate between ethical and
immoral business operations is one of the primary responsibilities of ethics (Michael Belch,
2011). It is difficult to establish what is morally acceptable and what is morally unacceptable.
Peter Drucker has noted that ethics in business have become a vital instrument. A wide range
of ethical difficulties arise when it comes to advertising, marketing research and overseas
sales. There are several ethical difficulties in marketing, and current researchers and
practitioners continue to debate and argue about the worth of socially responsible marketing
operations. Good and bad choices are involved in making decisions about numerous
commodities (Ramaswamy V. S. & Namakumari, 2013). Advertising has a profound effect
on the lives of customers. With a broad and diverse customer base and rising consumer
consciousness, Vietnam's economy is still in its early stages of development. A vast number
of consumers in Vietnam necessitate an understanding of advertising best practises. So this
research is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the ethics of advertising, as well as
identifying numerous unethical incidents in Vietnam.

2. Advertising Ethical Guidelines:

According to the Government's Decree, 194/CP on advertising activities on Vietnamese

territory, "advertising activities include the introduction and public announcement of
businesses and goods, services, trademarks, names, and symbols in accordance with the
operational needs of production, business, and service establishments." "Advertising is a
paid, one-way, and non-personal communication carried out through the mass media and

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other means of communication to promote the advantage of a product, goods, brand,
company, or organisation," writes P.Kotler.

A collection of normative standards that govern, assess, direct, and control subject behaviour
is referred to as business ethics in advertising. Advertising ethics are controlled by a shared
set of principles and social ethical norms. It is quite tough to lay the groundwork for a high-
quality commercial to emerge in public. Furthermore, the code of ethics in advertising is
fairly extensive and difficult to judge right and wrong because it is mostly dependent on the
norms of each individual or culture. Western and Eastern societies will undoubtedly have
distinct moral standards (George Edward Belch, 2009). However, there are certain
advertising platforms where the two cultures may find common ground. That's the 3A rule:
Advocacy, Accuracy and Acquisitiveness. Details:

Advocacy: An advertisement is considered positive if it does not violate the following: does
not make religious, racial, or sex distinctions, does not engage in antisocial behaviour or
attitudes, does not mention personal matters, does not use inappropriate languages such as
slang or vulgar language, and does not use nudity...

Accuracy: advertising must be totally accurate, especially when it comes to product contents,
test findings, and so on. Do not use the phrases "best" or "number one"...

Acquisitiveness: advertising is deemed uninspiring when there is an overuse of "sensitive"

pictures regarding gender unrelated to the product, an overuse of images of persons with
impairments or disabilities, advertising that elicits improper emotions such as fear or hatred...

3. Unethical Advertising
Unethical advertising is defined as a lack of moral standards and a refusal to follow correct
rules of behaviour in the advertising industry. Once you claim something you can't fulfil,
you're engaging in unethical advertising. Unethical advertising frequently distorts or
misrepresents its goods and seeks covert methods of coaxing or persuading its target
audience. Each occupation has its own set of norms and restrictions. However, for an
advertising sector as young as Vietnam's today, when the advertising legislation and ethical
guidelines are still relatively lax. When developing a new advertising product, almost
everyone in the industry depends on their own ethical criteria. This can occasionally result in
errors not just on the part of the marketed goods, but also on the part of the affected customer.

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The irresponsibility and lack of ethics in advertising, as well as lax management in licencing,
inspection, and supervision, have resulted in unsatisfactory product and service quality as
advertised. As well as negative effects on social awareness and education, as well as
personality formation at a young age (Siham, 2013).

The following forms of unethical advertising contribute to unethical advertisements:

 Vulgarity: Advertisements that are expressly designated as improper by

practically all viewers. In the current era of television, television commercials
have also altered; many corporations frequently present obscene advertisements
about their products in order to attract more people and therefore perform cheap
advertising of their products. Some commercials are for deodorants and toothpaste
(American Advertising Federation: Code of Ethics, 1984).
 Deception: A fraudulent advertisement that employs misleading, incorrect, or
unsubstantiated facts to market items to consumers. Duracell ultra-power batteries
are misleading advertising (Rasa Daugeliene, 2012).
 Puffery: This term refers to advertising literature that makes grandiose claims
about a product or service. It is mostly employed by businesses to improve the
image of their products.
 Red Bull: The popular energy drink Red Bull is presented in advertising as giving
you wings after drinking it, however, we all know that it does not give you wings
on your back after drinking it. Axe Deodorant: Axe deodorant (chocolate
fragrance) advertisement in which a person's entire body transforms to chocolate,
which is absolutely impossible.
 Stereotypes: Stereotypes are ready-made images of people or relationships that
are easily identifiable. Famous washing powders such as Rin, Tide, and Wheel, as
well as Wild Stone fragrance, always employ women to sell their businesses.
When characters are depicted in vocational roles, males are often seen working
outside the home, while women are depicted in domestic roles such as parent,
husband, or homemaker (Leslie Zebrowitz McArthur, 1976). These
advertisements reinforce preconceptions of women and girls as softer, weaker, and
more docile through a slower speed, more fades and resolutions, and softer
background music. Furthermore, males and girls have different personal and
social qualities, with guys being more independent and aggressive (Sarah Hall
Sternglanz, 1974).

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  Controversial advertising: Controversial advertising is defined as advertising
that breaches social standards and personal ideals. It is intended to cut through the
advertising clutter in order to captivate attention, generate buzz, and attract an
audience.
 Surrogate advertising: This is a type of advertising that is used to market illegal
items such as cigarettes and alcohol under the cover of another product. IPL was
one of the most successful businesses to employ kingfishers to advertise activities.
 Comparative advertising: Comparative advertising includes the names of rivals
in an ad and compares one or more features through advertising. Cherry blossom
vs. Kiwi and Colgate vs. Pepsodent were two famously contentious campaigns.
Rin and Tide Natural was a well-known disputed comparative advertisement in
which Rin directly showed the competitor product Tide and pledged that it is a
better and superior washing powder than Tide. Some other heated comparative
advertisement was that of Colgate and Pepsodent, in which Pepsodent explicitly
stated that Pepsodent is now superior than Colgate strong teeth, providing 130%
germ assault strength.
 Children are being used in advertisements: Children are becoming a significant
aspect of advertising in the market. Children are being used in advertising by
marketers to enhance sales. This is done because Indian youngsters are permitted to
view all television advertisements, and marketers are taking advantage of this. There
are numerous commercial advertising in which marketers utilise children even if the
items are not for children, such as Super Nirma, Surf Excel, and so on, which is
irrelevant from a marketing standpoint. These advertisements are primarily intended
to elicit the emotions of clients. Using children in ads, specifically in Asia, where
most consumers are able the items but are driven to buy them by children, has a
negative impact on their economic levels. Marketers should only utilise children in
promotions for their related products.

4. Hoat Huyet Nhat Nhat advertising is offensive: people who do not use Hoat Huyet Nhat
Nhat products lose sleep because of the karma of not using the product.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o8JKlSwMa4

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As a "famous" brand in the market with products that are well-received by consumers. To
make customers not forget their brand and reach new users, Nhat Nhat Co., Ltd. did not
"hesitate" to mention people who do not use their product have sleep problems is due to
"karma", "damnation from God"...which causes a lot of objection.

A clip advertising the medicine Hoat Huyet Nhat (of Nhat Nhat Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) for
people who want to prevent and treat cerebral circulatory insufficiency, peripheral circulatory
insufficiency... That creates controversy. This clip caused controversy after appearing on
television because the words were considered offensive.

Specifically, the 58-second video captures the conversation of two elderly men about the
illness of their family members. The old man in the pink shirt confided that he and his
mother, thanks to regular use of this blood-activating product, slept very well, even though
they had used many treatments before. On the contrary, his wife refused to use it. So, she
suffered from chronic insomnia. The man in the pink shirt also expressed his inability to
convince his wife to use the product. At this time, the white-shirted man sitting opposite
continued, "Your wife is also an intellectual, also a doctor like you. She should use the
medicine right away. However, she refuses to use it. That can only be due to the heavy karma
of her previous life. That is might damnation from God to make her not believe in blood-
active drugs. So that she would have to suffer from chronic insomnia for the rest of her life. If
so, then only God can help her". 

Throughout the conversation of these two men, there were constantly speeches and words
that be insulting to people who do not use the product they are advertising .

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Moreover, Hoat blood Nhat medicine advertisement directly compares with other products
(Siham, 2013).

In addition, to "scare" consumers who suffer health issues because of do not use the product.
It is due to "karma", "the curse from God". Moreover, they indirectly said that people who
does not use their product are uneducated. The company also lack of advertising records and
licenses. The video has a segment that mentions other medicinal products with the same
effect: French Ginkgo Biloba and the sleeping pill Diazepam. Quoted verbatim:

“For many years now, I, my mother and my wife have been suffering from chronic insomnia
and stayed up all night. Although we used French Ginkgo Biloba, it does not work. Then we
had to buy Diazepam sleeping pills prescribed by the doctor. However, in the morning, we
were the as tired because of losing sleep issue."

According to research, Ginkgo Biloba is an active ingredient extracted from the ginkgo tree.
It has existed for a long time in France, which has effects on the brain and nerves. The extract
of the ginkgo tree is applied in many different products including the trade name Ginkgo
Biloba such as Ginkgo Biloba of the US, Ginkgo Biloba 500mg box of 180 tablets of the US,
Ginki Ginko Biloba of France...

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In addition, sleeping pills Diazepam is an international generic name for a psychotropic drug
belonging to group 1,4 benzodiazepines. It has obvious effects of reducing stress, agitation,
anxiety, and sedative and sedating effects. Sold at many drugstores is the product Diazepam
5mg (registration number: VD - 24756 - 16) manufactured by Pharmedic Pharmaceutical
Company. Therefore, without knowing on what basis, Nhat Nhat Co., Ltd. affirmed that
"using Ginkgo Biloba of France does not work", "Diazepam is prescribed by a doctor, but
losing sleep issue still there to cause of we feel tired in the morning.” (Siham, 2013)

Notably, this is not the first time Hoat Huyet Nhat Nhat medicine has been entangled in
controversy.

For example, in May 2016, Nhat Nhat Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was administratively
sanctioned by the Drug Administration of Vietnam with an amount of VND 30 million for
advertising Hoat Huyet Nhat Nhat drug product that did not match the function they claimed
(Rasa Daugeliene, 2012).

5. Some measures to limit unethical advertising:

Rectifying advertising activities requires the synchronous participation of all levels and
sectors and the sense of law compliance of all organizations and individuals.

State agencies, the Ministry of Culture and the local cultural departments strengthen the role
of directing, orienting activities, inspecting, supervising and propagating. Policy-issuing
agencies need to understand the reality, conduct research and survey on a national scale, and
harmonize the interests of the people and business units in order for advertising to operate in
accordance with the provisions of the law; create conditions for healthy advertising
development.

6. Conclusion:
For such a long period of time, advertising has indeed been developed and introduced. We've
witnessed a wide range of unethical advertising. Nevertheless, advertising is receiving a lot of
flak these days. One of them deals with unethical circumstances. Ethics is a tremendous tool
for bringing about honesty and understanding of what is right and wrong. There has been a
lot of rivalry in recent years. In order to compete, businesses are indulging in unethical
practises. Today, rather than decreasing, the number of unethical advertisements is

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increasing. This clearly shows a lack of rule and rule application. As a result, professional
law enforcement is vital in our country.

Reference:

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American Advertising Federation: Code of Ethics. (1984). The Advertising Principles of American
Business .

Bin Nooh, M. N. (2014). The Criteria and Challenges of Unethical Advertising. American Journal of
Business, Economics and Management, 88.

George Edward Belch, M. B. (2009). Advertising and Promotion. An Integrated Marketing

Communication Perspective. MARK 301: Marketing Communications.

Leslie Zebrowitz McArthur, S. V. (1976). Television and Sex-role stereotyping. Journal ò Applied
Sociol Psychology , 329-351.

Michael Belch, G. B. (2011). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications

Perspective. McGraw-Hill Education.

Raghbir Singh, S. V. (2007). Socio-Economic and Ethical Implications of Advertising - A Perceptual

Study. Social Responsibility, Ethics & Marketing .

Ramaswamy V. S. & Namakumari. (2013). Marketing Management. McGraw Hill.

Rasa Daugeliene, M. L. (2012). INTERRELATION OF MISLEADING ADVERTISING AND SOLUTIONS OF

CONSUMERS: LEGAL REGULATION AND INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND IN LITHUANIA.
European Integration Studies.

Sarah Hall Sternglanz, L. S. (1974). Sex Role Stereotyping in Children's Television Programs.
Developmental Psychology.

Siham, B. (2013). Marketing MIX: An area of unethical practices? British Journal of Marketing Studies,
20-28.

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