Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Morally yes, but realistically no. I do believe that advertisers should have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people. As advertisements in media nowadays is such a huge piece of society, to a point touching nearly everyone across the globe in one of the prime examples of the rapid growth of globalization. As such this makes advertisements dangerous. In a sense with a medium that can reach and more importantly persuade and influence the billions around the world, advertisers can mold out an image of whatever they want the viewer to think or believe about a certain product, service or people. As such comes the argument that advertisers should be held accountable for stereotyping a certain people. An example of this is seen in the portrayal of occupations (In reference to the USA), undesirable jobs are typically portrayed by unattractive actors, while desirable occupations are portrayed by extremely attractive actors. Additionally, it can be attributed racial with labor workers being portrayed by Latinos and blacks. This is an issue as viewers are constantly influenced by these media stereotypes and with time, they become societal norms. An example is the body portrayal of women, the ideal women in society are expected to thin and have many unrealistic features. On the contrary it is logically to say that advertisers won’t care if they are making money. The driving factor of advertisements is the money that comes from it. Stereotypes provide familiarity for the viewers allowing for a better connection between the viewers and the product. As such if the stereotypes keep profits up. Though advertisers are not dumb. They understand the recent rise in social justice and can’t risk a slip up in stereotypes causing the consumer base to turn on them. As such advertisers avoid clear controversial stereotypes in an effort to maintain a consumer base.