My social marketing professor recently mentioned in our course that graduating from AU with a Master’s degree in Public Communication leaves every candidate with a high level of sophistication. We learn how to “manipulate and persuade people.”  This comment got me thinking: Do I really want to be the one that manipulates the way people think and behave? I guess, to a certain extend this is the work every communications practitioner takes on. However, I know that I can only commit to a job that applies the skills for the good side and values certain ethical standards.

The class discussion evolved after watching the PBS Frontline edition “The Persuaders” (2004) in which advertising and marketing professionals argued that through psychological research new and more influential communication strategies can be developed to reach an audience and convince people to buy products.  Knowing what the target audience is interested in and captures their attention is one thing, using psychological research to find out how to trigger precise emotions so that the consumer cannot do anything but buying the product however is over the top from my perspective.

As a communications professional, whether you are in marketing, PR, advertising, or public diplomacy, there are ethical barriers that should not be broken down. As soon as the audience does not have free will to choose whether the product should be bought or not, the communicators have gone one step to far.