Marketing the media with sexuality and violence: Is it ethical?

Sexuality and violence in the media have received significant attention by the researchers in communication studies. Unlike the extant literature, this research considers these phenomena as marketing instruments used by the mass media and approaches them from business ethics perspective. It aims at determining whether the use of sexuality and violence by the media institutions is ethical according to business ethics theories. It seeks to answer the research question by examining some fundamental business ethics theories, namely Kantian, Utilitarian, Aristotelian and Contractarian approaches to business ethics. In addition, it aims at introducing a framework for the evaluation of controversial issues in marketing practices in terms of business ethics. The analysis suggests that the use of sexuality and violence as marketing instruments in the mass media is unethical. All the business ethics theories examined support this conclusion. The deductions about the use of sexuality are stronger than the use of violence. Given the fact that the media institutions use sexuality and violence as a marketing instrument in order to attract more viewers or consumers, it means that the media companies are trying to market themselves or their products at the expense of ignoring business ethics.