Marketing Of Power Master, A Malt Liquor Featuring A Male Black Model Research Paper Sample

Marketing ethics is defined as the set moral principles and regulations that deal with the issues related to marketing. The marketing of Power Master has raised controversy on the issue of target marketing. Target marketing is a marketing strategy that aims at targeting the customers in a particular geographical area or a certain class of clients. This is a strategy that aims at reaching out the prospective customers. Companies that use target marketing aim at reaching a certain target market for its products or services. The use of target marketing by G. Heileman Brewing Company has been in the limelight due to the issue related to an ethical issue in marketing. The new Malt liquor product, Power Master, contains high alcohol than any other beer that has ever been sold in the market. The main reason this liquor has faced criticism is due to the advertisement been targeted to the inner-city black males who are mostly low-income citizens. The main controversy is the target group since most of the critics consider the group not well informed about the product and the effects of how it will be perceived by the black population.
Target marketing is not a new practice in the marketing industry, but the ethical issue about marketing is that the target group should be able to make their choices objectively. According to Carroll (293), for a customer to be able to make an objective decision about a product that has been advertised, he must be aware of the benefits and the side-effects of the product. The critics, in this case, argue that the target group is not aware of the effects brought about by the malt liquor, and this raises the ethical question about the advertisement. The social responsibility, been one of the ethical issues in marketing, is brought up by Mr. Snowden claiming that people should not be encouraged to drink more. He is skeptical about the issue and states that putting up a billboard saying ‘drink in moderation’ does not help in any way. Snowden agrees that Native Americans have a drinking problem so there must be more action to prevent drinking than it is been done by the liquor companies. Dr. Antonio Novello, a United States Surgeon General, has criticized the advertisement and the name of the liquor and marketing strategy stating that it socially irresponsible to use such strategy to increase profits.
Alcoholism and other related alcohol diseases affect most black American population. In a study conducted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, ten times more black men die of cirrhosis of the liver at an age between 25 and 44. According to Dr. Novello, the use of the word power encourages more people to drink the liquor and also the use of the black male model. This is despite the worrying statistics about alcohol and the diseases associated with alcohol intake. The advertising and beer industries call the debate over Power Master preposterous since they have taken all the measure to ensure that the advertisements are ethical. The brewers argue that they are unjustly accused of social responsibilities, and yet they have stepped up major campaigns to educate the public about their products. They claim that their efforts are not considered, but they are accused when an issue is misinterpreted by experts. The ethical issue, in this case, is similar to the cigarette industry when Uptown and Dakota were introduced. Experts argued that the two classes of cigarettes were introduced objective to target the blacks and the poor in the society. This is a similar case since the liquor is meant to promote alcoholism among the blacks and the poor in the society.

Moral Framework

Philosophers have developed various frameworks that help in moral decision-making process. These frameworks include but not limited to Utilitarian approach, rights approach, Justice or fairness approach, common good approach, and virtue approach. Dealing with a moral issue is perplexing, and, therefore, the first approach to analyzing ethical issues is to get the facts about the issue. The facts will help in telling us what is but does not provide answers to what ought to be. Most of the moral issues create controversies since the actions taken do not consider the facts. The moral frameworks help in guiding an individual in making the right decision concerning any moral issue. The decision to adopt a particular step in based on personal moral argument that a person selects. The moral argument is founded on the principle and values that the individual considers right in his perspective.
Utilitarian approach states that the ethical action to take is the one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The rights approach applies the moral right question where it considers an action morally right if it respects the moral rights of everyone. Justice or Fairness approach states that the moral action to be undertaken should be equal to all the stakeholders. The approach argues that the favoritism and discrimination are all wrong and unjust. Common Good Approach framework insists that the action to be done should be for the common good of all in the society. Virtue approach states that the moral action to be taken should be aimed at full development of our humanity. The best approach that I would apply in arguing the case is the virtue approach. This is because the approach will help me in making decisions that are right for the community and to me. In this approach, I would be able to determine all the virtues that are human and make the best decision based on that analysis.

Work Cited

Carroll, Archie B. Business & Society: Ethics & Stakeholder Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Connolly, Peggy. Ethics in Action: A Case-Based Approach. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
Mittelman, Amy. Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer. New York: Algora Pub, 2008. Print.
Patil, Dilip B, and Dinesh D. Bhakkad. Redefining Management Practice and Marketing in Modern's Age. , 2014. Print.