This is my research paper for my marketing class, which I got a pretty good grade for. I worked hard for this one! So enjoy it. It’s so massive I have to split it into two parts. I’ll release the second part another day.
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Marketing, in any form, has existed and developed since the dawn of trade, the pursuit of profit. Now, many years on, it has become “an indispensable approach to doing business” (Palmer, 2004). Defined as the commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer, it is grown as a medium through which the former communicates to the latter. In fact, advertising itself may turn out to be the best advertised product of all time (Cohen, 2002). As most other media have become, it is where both good and harm can spawn as a result of the intentions of those who employ the use of marketing. Like television and the internet, marketing is subject to misuse or abuse and therefore has gained criticism from various observant entities.

The inherent evil in marketing
Perreault and McCarthy (2005) have listed samples of common marketing criticisms, quoted from their book “Essentials of Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach”.
- Advertising is everywhere, and it’s often annoying, misleading and wasteful
- The quality of products are poor and often they are not even safe
- There are too many unnecessary products
- Packaging and labeling are often confusing & deceptive
- Marketing serves the rich and exploits the poor
- Services stinks, and when a consumer has a problem, nobody cares
- Marketing creates interest in products that pollute the environment
- Private information about consumers is collected and used to sell them things they don’t need
- Marketing makes people too materialistic and motivates them toward things instead of social needs
- Easy consumer credit makes people buy things they don’t need and cant afford
- Middlemen add too much to the cost of distribution and just raise prices without providing anything in return

According to Lancaster and Massingham (1999), it is the misunderstanding of the word “marketing” itself that has generated much controversy regarding the practice of marketing. On the other hand, Kotler and Armstrong criticize marketers who “profit at the expense of targeted segments” (2006). For example, the infectious appeal of Pokemon towards American children causes them to spend excessively on trading cards, etc. Such is the effect of “high powered advertising appeals” (2006).
As the “perfect business” is virtually non-existent in terms of practices, wrongdoings and shortcomings in marketing are bound to happen. Not only individual swindlers use sly tactics to benefit self, CEOs could do so as well. Collective research has identified marketing-related corporate vices that may be familiar to the average consumer.

Vice: Misinformation is misleading
To put it into analytical terms, Crane and Matten (2004) have broken down criticism of marketing practices into the individual level and social level. In the individual level, it is “misleading and deceptive practices” that distorts the consumer’s understanding of the product and the company. This is in violation of a consumer’s right to be informed, especially when advertising and product labeling provide inadequate or misleading information (Lancaster & Massingham, 1999).

While products normally provide accurate information such as expiry date, nutritional facts, ingredients and the sort, some attempt to twist things just to earn a buck. Due to the chance of such an occurrence, consumers have to be aware enough to read the fine print. Even so, some companies would make larger-than-life claims. One would create a tagline like “ABC provides you with solutions that last a lifetime” or something along those lines. Words such as “best” are used to improve product/company image though usually not statistically correct and are, oddly enough, somewhat believable.

Vice: Making them want
The social impact of marketing, namely through advertising, creates artificial wants and reinforce materialism, among other things (Crane & Matten, 2004). It is through marketing that “wants” appear as “needs”, and at the same time creating the perceived connection between happiness and consumption. Crane and Matten (2004) also mentions that ad campaigns stir dissatisfaction as consumers compare the marketed world with their own life. In certain advertisements one sees the “ideal body”, the “ideal kitchen”, the “ideal car”, the “ideal lifestyle”, etc. It gets harder to be content when exposed to such ads that display bigger, better things.

As a result of marketing, there are consumers that succumb to subconsciously ranking products according to brand, and not always price or quality. In other cases, the quality of a product is perceived to be higher only because it is indicated by the higher price, though not necessarily so. Some might show off just because his/her entire apartment is furnished with Ikea products; smarter consumers know that its sturdiness is not top-notch. One may find that product quality may not always match its packaging and design.

Vice: Bad, bad products
Lancaster and Massingham (1999) point that many products are a waste of resources and in some cases, are dangerous to health. It is when “targeting vulnerable or disadvantaged consumers with controversial or potentially harmful products” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006) that things get ugly. The fact is that nearly any area of consumption has the risk of “physical, emotional, financial and psychological harm” (Crane & Matten, 2004). Plastic products are not biodegradable, drugs can become overpriced, cutlery is dangerous to children, and we haven’t talked about things we don’t need. When the product is not nearly as wonderful as it is claimed to be, down goes the marketing credibility and responsibility.
In addition to that, the other aspects that accompany the product also arise from bad marketing. Unreliable delivery and inefficient after-sales service (Lancaster & Massingham, 1999) are complaints which are commonplace amongst countless consumers. Other flaws such as faulty parts, unreliable instructions, lack of guarantee, and overpricing victimize consumers who want nothing more than their money’s worth. This reflects how much the company places importance in customer relationship after the sale has been made.

(References will be attached to Part 2)