ABSTRACT
Truthful, authentic, respectful, equitable, and socially responsible are important principles in a professional and a personal life. Imagine being dishonest, false, irreverent, unfair, and indifferent to consequences to someone one works with or a family member or friend. Communication without truthfulness is not persuasion. It is propaganda. If someone is swayed through false claims and deception, the victory over that individual is pyrrhic, short-term, and ultimately, unsatisfying. Creators of visual messages should, according to the academics, "consider if both the content and the execution of the persuasive appeal are fair" and if the persuasive message has been employed without unjust manipulation. Unfortunately, given the corporate pressures to always increase the bottom line, older adults, who should know better, have for decades practiced the same hedonistic philosophy. The list of companies that have created campaigns, often called "shock advertising" that produces a firestorm of negative publicity is long, relentless, and a bit depressing.
