The EthicMark® Award recognizes socially responsible media campaigns by businesses, non-profit organizations, or individuals, using either the old media—print, radio, and television—or the new media—internet, cable, and wireless communications.
We encourage marketing, advertising, and public relations professionals to achieve their highest visions of media campaigns and communications that demonstrate:
- The importance of ethics in well-functioning markets in democratic societies
- The extent to which commercial messages and marketing can simultaneously promote what is good for business and what is good for society and the planet
- The truth that businesses can do well by doing good, and that those businesses that pay attention to the triple bottom line—profits, people, and the planet—prosper more than those that narrowly focus only on profit.
The EthicMark® Award board uses the following criteria when voting on submitted marketing, advertising, and public relations campaigns. Does the campaign:
- Uplift the human spirit and society
- Portray and reinforce healthy lifestyles and behavior that enhance personal development, community life, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship, sustainable development, human rights, and sound labor practices
- Adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, responsibility, accountability, trustworthiness, transparency, fairness and balance
- Respect the diversity of cultural and religious values
- Respect consumers as human beings rather than attempting to exploit them by using exaggeration, subliminal messages, brain science, MRIs, or endocrinology as tools to manipulate them for marketing purposes
- Not use advertising, particularly to young people or minors, in a way that promotes risky or salacious behavior, undermines parental responsibility, or encourages self-destructive or socially irresponsible behavior
- Not use exploitation of violence, cruelty to humans or animals, sensationalism, and degrading and pathological portrayals
- Not use advertising that encourages or condones discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, or other stereotypes