There was a thread the other day, on one of the marketing forums I belong to, that touched upon a point of morality and ethics in marketing.
One of the members was called out for blatantly lying to, and deceiving his market, in order to promote himself as being a master marketer.
That member shot back, and basically told his detractors “The best marketers adjust the facts, so get off your high horses and start living in the real world!”
He then went on to justify his claim, demanding that he could “honestly” say he produced tens of millions of dollars for past clients, because he once worked for a company that did so.
And even though he wasn’t personally responsible for those transactions, he wasn’t lying. He was simple “adapting the truth” to fit his own needs.
Now, I don’t know how you feel about his justification; But to me, with that type of logic, a cashier at Walmart could say they’re a front line financial expert, managing an entire sector, at a multi billion dollar company.
Is it a lie? Or, is it simply an adapted truth?
To me, it sounds deceptive… what do you think?
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