I hate moralizing.  As the saying goes, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”, and I’m surrounded both by fine crystal and by large concrete blocks…

…but that’s never stopped me before, so here goes. 

I believe that my duty as a marketer is to actively refuse to market bad products, or market “evily”.

Let’s define what that means.

Bad products: things that hurt you without your realization, or hurt other people (physically or economically).

Evil marketing: marketing a product with deliberate intent to conceal its “badness”, vs. educate people as to its strengths.

For example, I would have no problem marketing cigarettes (or for that matter, Methamphetamines) if I was allowed to do it by saying “These things are highly addictive, have been proven to cause cancer and shorten your lifespan, as well as the lifespan of anyone near you, are priced at a level that will drain your wallet super-fast, and make you stink. If you choose to sit in a sealed environment (like a car) and choose to trade years of your life against the rush you’ll get from Nicotine, which may also accelerate your metabolic rate and assist in weightloss, fine. Just don’t litter or become a drain on public health-care resources*”.

(*which is of course the problem, given cigarettes addictive nature. Perhaps I should have said “Herbal Supplements” instead – the kind sold in late-night infomercials of which seem to be equally overpriced, and arguably as damaging to your wallet and health. Dr. James Chappell, I’m talking about you…)

The fact is that I don’t market these things because those companies don’t want to market honestly. For example, you’ll never see a late-night infomercial for $0.69 acidophilus – but you’ll see $35 jars of the same stuff. (Or worse, “more pure / more potent” acidophilus… not that “more pure” or “more potent” has any medical meaning or benefit. But we consumers do like everything “more”, at least when we’re paying $34.31 “more” per bottle!)

So what’s my point?

As a marketer, you and I have a choice, and our choice will have an impact on many, many other people.

So choose wisely. Resist the lure of big-company money or slippery ethics (“if I don’t do this, someone else will”). Dare to be True.

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