ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the development of media and advertising in Latin America. The context is limited to those 20 nation-states in the region whose predominant language is Spanish or Portuguese. This review examines the similarities of government guidelines and conventional formats for moral principles, or codes of ethics, and the controlling mechanisms of advertising agencies. A common pattern in many of the nations is the formal establishment of ethical standards to be followed by practitioners, supervised by advertising industry associations and by government authorities in each country. Overall, there is evidence that Latin American advertisers are following universal moral principles and that governments have set forth legislation to guarantee civility and respect to citizens from advertisers.
