There is a Problem

Most people have noticed, at this point in their life, that there is a problem in advertising. The problem involves ethics. Why are there advertisements out there that are offensive? Why haven't we moved past offensive advertising as a society? Why are companies getting away with advertisement that are not telling the truth?
People should not have to fear advertisements or feel like a target. It's one thing for ad agencies to target an audience they know will buy their product, it's another thing to degrade part of an audience.
This occurs especially in commercials. Commercials have actors that are representing racial, cultural, and gender stereotypes in an extremely offensive way. Ad agencies often mock or make fun of a certain type of person to be humorous. They exaggerate stereotypes more than should be allowed. They do this in order to draw attention to their company. They want people to pay attention to them, look them up online, and invest in them. The only way for a business to become known is to advertise. However, there is a right way to advertise and a wrong way to advertise. The wrong way would be advertising in a way that offends people. Another wrong way is to lie in an advertisement.
The right way to advertise is to find a clean way to inform an audience that is completely honest and ethical.
There is more for ad agencies to lose then there is to gain from offending people. Even if making an ad offensive draws attention, it is wrong and there are better ways for a company to make themselves known. Companies that release offensive advertisements succeed in getting the attention they desired. But, most of that attention is going to be extremely negative because people become outraged. Because of this negative attention, companies have lost business and income has plummeted. This proves that it is not worth it to release unethical media.
One extremely offensive form of advertising is using a metaphor to spread a sensitive message like this ad:

Although the advertisement had good intentions, people are extremely offended by the use of such a tragic event to send a message about cigarettes.
People that were personally victimized by the events of 911 were probably the most offended.
Sure, cigarettes are bad for you, but there are better ways to get this message across in a equally impactful way. Using a tragic terrorist attack to spread a message is insensitive.
It is important that advertisers learn to be sensitive to issues like this one and consider people's feelings before making such bold statements.