ABSTRACT

Public relations and advertising are not the same thing; however, they do share similar ethical concerns because of the nature of the communication act they share. A number of federal agencies have at least some control over advertising. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) deals mostly with untruthful or deceptive advertising, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) watches over the advertising of drugs and medical devices. This chapter looks at the ethical issues that public relations and advertising have in common. First, it discusses how the Supreme Court views the differences between the two and the way they use their free-speech rights. Then, it takes a close look at the act of persuasion. The most frequent complaint against any form of communication is that it is trying to persuade unethically, usually through some form of deception. Both public relations and advertising frequently suffer from this charge.