Description: I’ve never seen Ralph Lauren in real life, but when he appeared on “Friends” a few years ago, he looked somewhat diminutive and not entirely in the first bloom of slenderness. So I wonder what he might have thought when a recently produced Ralph Lauren ad seemed to feature a model who last ate in 2004 and clearly enjoyed the attention of a plastic surgeon whose diet consisted entirely of mushrooms from the magic department of his local supermarket.

Source: CNET.com

Date: 10/09/2009

Keys: Business Ethics and social responsibility (p32), Marketing (p458)

Link:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10372127-71.html?tag=mncol

Questions for discussion:

• Why do you think some people would say that this advertisement is socially irresponsible?
• How would you have responded to the publicity if you were Ralph Lauren?
• Do you think this advertisement might have been created in order to generate publicity for the company and its brand? Explain your answer.