Advertisements on the Internet: Ethics, Involvement and Product Type

The purpose of this study is to provide some insights into advertisements on the Iranian websites. Firstly, in publisher side, is the ethic a matter of fact in accepting Internet advertisements to publish? Second, to provide a preliminary insight into the advertising of pleasant and objectionable products, which one is more? Third, what kind of the involvement (rational or emotional) used more to publish Internet advertisements? In pursuing these goals, the content of 649 ads through 205 websites and 751 ads through 138 weblogs was analyzed. Content analysis was used to verify the data. The authors found that (1) all 649 analyzed ads in Iranian websites are belonged to ethical ads and no unethical advertisement found at websites, (2) the majority of published advertisements are belonged to “high involvement product with rational appealâ€, (3) the “objectionable product ads†at Iranian weblogs (%68) was more “pleasant product ads†(%32). This study by analyzing 1400 advertisements gives managers some insights and solutions regarding to advertising on the Iranian Internet domains.