Chapter 13: Good Causes and Bad Taste

OVERVIEW

What is exhilarating in bad taste is the aristocratic pleasure of giving offence.

”Charles Baudelaire

Public relations' role with respect to the marketing function of the organization gives rise to a number of specific ethical issues. These issues arise when the marketing of products and services uses specific tactics: first, marketing on the coattails of so-called good causes', and second, the even more nebulous issue of tastefulness or lack thereof.

In our continuing journey through the ethical quagmire created by PR strategies and the moral dilemmas that can spring from them we need to discuss these marketing- related tactics.