My friend Stefanie Boyer (Bryant University) has pointed out some additional reading which will give you an even better background on this issue.  She pointed us to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Sunscreen Hall of Shame.  EWG points out specific, deceptive claims being made by some brands — and also suggests better brands.  The site also includes a page with some surprising, scientifically backed claims, “Sunscreens Exposed:  9 Surprising Truths.”

I am using all this information as part of my “Is Marketing Good or Evil?” exercise in class tomorrow.  I ask students this question and then provide some examples on both sides of the debate.  Like most tools, marketing can be used for good or evil — it is really who uses it.  The question that continues to be debated is the extent to which regulation should be introduced to prevent abuse.  No answers, just useful questions for our students to consider.

Thank you Stefanie!

The articles might stimulate a discussion of marketing ethics and regulation in the product or promotion units.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Yikes, lots of stuff here.  The Sheryl Sandberg story in BusinessWeek provides a neat profile of the COO and gets you up to date on some Facebook initiatives — like advertising and whether the firm should enter China.  The more interesting issue is the ethical lapse by Facebook.  It also makes you wonder about a PR firm that would take on (or maybe even suggest) such a tactic.  Neither looks very good here.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Great scenario to use to discuss ethics in class.  How does a PR firm – even a big, well-known firm like Burson-Marsteller say no to Facebook?

Examples of social marketing educate students by showing them marketing concepts in a different context.  For marketing skeptics in your class, it demonstrates marketing in a positive light.  This example deals with drinking and driving — something relevant to many of our students.  The 1:44 video was developed by Oglivy Brazil.

Some highlights in the TerraChoice report:

• 4744 products in 2010 claimed to be “green” (up 73% from 2009)
• 95% of these committed at least one of the sins of greenwashing.

File under product labeling, product, ethics, social responsibility or sustainability.  What responsibility do marketers have?

Interestingly, this comes at a time when there are questions about consumer interest in sustainability.  An article in Advertising Age, “Has Green Stopped Giving?” (November 8, 2010 – you may need to be a subscriber to link through) notes:

In recent months, sales have begun to slow in categories such as green cleaners and grow in not-so-sustainable ones like bottled water as shoppers decide they may not be worth the tradeoff. And a September study showed big swings in the number of consumers who believe environmentally friendly alternatives are too expensive, don’t work as well as other products and aren’t actually better for the environment — all of which seem to add up to what Timothy Kenyon, director of the GfK Roper Green Gauge study calls “green fatigue.”

We first posted a great WSJ video on this topic back in August – “How Advertisers Use Internet Cookies to Track You,” (Teach the 4 Ps, August 8).  If you showed that video in class, your students might find the video below “What They Know:  Websites Move to Curb Cookies,” (Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2010).  to be an interesting follow-up.   The 4:24 video discusses how many websites are responding to privacy and revenue pressures to try to curb the number of cookies.

Well, maybe we marketers just need to figure out the best way to change consumer behavior.  This fascinating article “The Secret to Turning Consumers Green” (Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2010 – click here if non-subscriber - then link through).  The article describes a variety of techniques — most relying on perceptions of peer behavior — that have been shown in research to change behavior.  Let’s hope we can nudge people to make more sustainable choices.

This might be fun to talk about when talking about consumer behavior or social responsibility.