The industries of marketing and advertising operate within strict regulations, monitored by the Federal Trade Commission and intentionally public. However, even with constant oversight and truth-in-advertising laws in place, these industries still have significant leeway to violate ethical standards of consumers around the world.
Many marketing tactics are specifically geared at creating ethical gray areas in which to operate. These practices often teeter on the edge of illegal, but stay just inside the limits of truth to avoid prosecution. Tactics including fear marketing, subliminal advertising, emotional appeals and taking advantage of consumers who are less educated, all walk these gray ethical lines.
Most of us have been exposed to these practices for years through various mediums including TV, print and online content. However, the newest and perhaps most dangerous messaging vehicle could take marketing ethics to a whole new level. Virtual Reality Marketing (VRM) is possibly the newest form of content messaging since social media. Companies are flocking to this high-tech forum because it allows them to completely immerse their consumers in content, which equals fewer distractions and more focus on the message. This is huge in our world of attention deficit advertising. A couple of examples are listed below. My personal favorite is the Mercedes-Benz – Loki ad where you can move the video around 306 degrees. The second ad by Lowe’s shows a more practical use of VRM and just how accessible it is with the use of Google Cardboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNylwQRUQM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVsEb9vla-I
Another piece of VRM is being used by non-profit groups and awareness organizations. These parties use VRM to transport viewers into a world where they are able to see those the group aims to help. People can interact with children in extreme poverty so closely, it seems as if they could reach out and touch them. Others experience what it’s like to be a Syrian war refugee or watch people suffer with Ebola or other illnesses just like they were there in person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUosdCQsMkM
While ads like Mercedes seems harmless and bringing awareness to the Syrian refugee crisis is crucial, both bring about the question of how far is too far when marketing is concerned? It is after all virtual reality, not reality. While Mercedes makes nice vehicles, chances are that buying one will not magically transport you into a world of snow and ice where you days can be spend running free with your furry friend. And where non-profits are concerned, viewers are limited to the messaging/story that organizations want them to see. We’d all like to hope these groups have good intentions and spend the donations they receive ethically, but we’ve also all heard the many stories of those groups who do not.
We can also make the argument that marketing has carried out these agendas for years, selling buyers on an inflated idea or concept whether that be in print or through a television commercial. But does VRM take that ethical gray area to far? Do people fully immersed in a virtual world have a more difficult time refraining from emotional appeals because the emotions feel too real? If the answer is no, then we can assume the millions of people viewing these virtual ads are simply choosing virtual marketing over reality. What does that say about the type of consumers we’ve become?
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