Ethical Issues in advertising in Sudan: An Islamic Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to measure the impact of religious commitment on consumers’ attitudes toward ethical issues in advertising in a Sudanese context and how their attitude is affected by the religious perceptions. A survey of 347 participants in Khartoum was used in the analysis. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were applied to analyze the data. The results revealed that the consumers have negative attitudes toward ethical issues in advertising. There are significant differences between highly committed and less
committed Muslim perceptions of unethical issues in advertising especially with respect to exploiting women and children in advertising. There are no significant differences between highly committed and less committed Muslim perceptions with
regard to deceptive advertising and unnecessary consumption factors. The study leads
to important managerial implications and identifies important ethical issues in
advertising that are conflicting with Islam principles and morals.