Philosophy
I was listening to Woody Allen's bit "The Vodka Ad" the other day and wondered about the veracity of the hook he uses in that bit. Is it immoral to endorse a product you do not use?
Of course, there is the question of what constitutes endorsement. The obvious case is someone saying I use it and you should too. Should you say those words if you don't use it? Ads for exercise equipment always feature people who are professional trainers and that contraption for three payments of $39.95 are not the reason s/he has those abs. But is there something wrong with that person saying how great of a workout it gives you and leaving the impression that it was? Is it buyer beware -- anyone fooled by such an ad deserves to be scalped?
When a celebrity allows his or her image to be used to market the product as a spokesperson, does that constitute endorsement and do we have the right to infer that the person really does believe in the product and isn't just collecting a paycheck? Surely, just allowing your work to appear in an ad does not constitute endorsement, so we don't think that when MicroSoft used "Start Me Up" in Windows ads that it meant Mick and the boys are pro-P.C., they just licensed use of the song. But how far do you have to go to have some responsibility to believe in the product? Or is there such a line at all?
- Send More Chuck Berry: Music And Politics
This is far too rich not to comment upon. John McCain had been using Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Good as a campaign song. But now that Berry has come out as a strong Obama proponent, he's switched to...wait for it..."Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA....
- Michael Sandel - The Moral Limits Of Markets
There are some things that money can't buy... for everything else... oh crap, there's no anything else! Over the past couple of decades, and without almost anyone noticing, we have turned from a market economy?one in which we use capital as a...
- Butterfly Science Kits
This is totally different. I saw a commercial for raising butterflies early one morning. The commercial's format was like all the other "only $19.95" offers except they weren't selling knives that never dull or scratch removers...it was a complete...
- Microsoft Office And The Free Jarte
"Microsoft announces retail prices for Office 2010" by Jim Finkle and Derek Caney January 5th, 2010 Reuters Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday that it will charge between $99 and $499 for four retail versions of its Office 2010 software, due to be released...
- "sidereus Nuncius"--published March 13th, 1610
The Stephen Hawking of the 17th Century. Title page of Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius, published in Venice in 1610. The book instantly made Galileo a European celebrity, and earned him, in July 1610, the position of chief mathematician and philosopher...
Philosophy
The Vodka Ad and the Ethics of Endorsement
I was listening to Woody Allen's bit "The Vodka Ad" the other day and wondered about the veracity of the hook he uses in that bit. Is it immoral to endorse a product you do not use?
Of course, there is the question of what constitutes endorsement. The obvious case is someone saying I use it and you should too. Should you say those words if you don't use it? Ads for exercise equipment always feature people who are professional trainers and that contraption for three payments of $39.95 are not the reason s/he has those abs. But is there something wrong with that person saying how great of a workout it gives you and leaving the impression that it was? Is it buyer beware -- anyone fooled by such an ad deserves to be scalped?
When a celebrity allows his or her image to be used to market the product as a spokesperson, does that constitute endorsement and do we have the right to infer that the person really does believe in the product and isn't just collecting a paycheck? Surely, just allowing your work to appear in an ad does not constitute endorsement, so we don't think that when MicroSoft used "Start Me Up" in Windows ads that it meant Mick and the boys are pro-P.C., they just licensed use of the song. But how far do you have to go to have some responsibility to believe in the product? Or is there such a line at all?
- Send More Chuck Berry: Music And Politics
This is far too rich not to comment upon. John McCain had been using Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Good as a campaign song. But now that Berry has come out as a strong Obama proponent, he's switched to...wait for it..."Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA....
- Michael Sandel - The Moral Limits Of Markets
There are some things that money can't buy... for everything else... oh crap, there's no anything else! Over the past couple of decades, and without almost anyone noticing, we have turned from a market economy?one in which we use capital as a...
- Butterfly Science Kits
This is totally different. I saw a commercial for raising butterflies early one morning. The commercial's format was like all the other "only $19.95" offers except they weren't selling knives that never dull or scratch removers...it was a complete...
- Microsoft Office And The Free Jarte
"Microsoft announces retail prices for Office 2010" by Jim Finkle and Derek Caney January 5th, 2010 Reuters Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday that it will charge between $99 and $499 for four retail versions of its Office 2010 software, due to be released...
- "sidereus Nuncius"--published March 13th, 1610
The Stephen Hawking of the 17th Century. Title page of Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius, published in Venice in 1610. The book instantly made Galileo a European celebrity, and earned him, in July 1610, the position of chief mathematician and philosopher...