Applying moral theory in practice : frequently violated moral domains in banned advertisements

Abstract

This professional report explores Haidt and Joseph's "Moral Foundations Theory" as a framework to better review advertising content to prevent 'offensive advertising' in the advent of standardized global advertising. As a framework, this theory can showcase the levels of morality within any culture across five domains (care, fairness, authority, ingroup loyalty and purity) thus providing marketers and advertisers alike the opportunity to potentially avoid offending target audiences in any culture. Two studies, a text study and a visual study, of banned advertisements' in India, were conducted with regards to why they were banned and what moral domains were violated in each case. The implications of the study for media practitioners were also provided.