The social responsability of stakeholders in advertising: the need for an ethical commitment in advertising industry

This article analyses the system of autoregulation in the advertisement industry in Spain. It examines the activity done by Autocontrol, as well as the responsible sense acquired by the agents implied on the advertisement practice. This analysis takes into consideration todays double functionality of advertisement: its economic dimension as commercial activity, and its social dimension directly influencing the contemporary ways of living. This article must be taken from a qualitative standpoint, focused on the review of bibliographic sources and their analysis. The results show that from a legal point of view and taken as a commercial activity, advertisement is one of the most regulated activities in Spain; however, from the social perspective, its regulation is much more complicated and the consumer is not always protected. In this sense, it is necessary to review ethics in advertisement, beyond Autocontrol, with the purpose of guaranteeing consumer rights. This review must be done by the own market agents and must ensure that advertisement can control itself.