Introducing the Marketing Hippocratic Oath: Redefining Industry Practices

First, do no harm.

This is a central theme of the modern Hippocratic Oath, a set of principles governing patient care that most medical schools administer to their students. Most, if not all professions, have some form of a code of ethics that outlines behavioral expectations, and marketing is no exception. However, the American Marketing Association (AMA) code of conduct, and most other marketing codes of ethics, falls short because it fails to address the specific ways that marketing causes harm. To rectify this oversight, I propose a voluntary code of conduct specifically for marketing—call it a Marketing Hippocratic Oath.

What Marketing is Missing

AMA’s Statement of Ethics begins with the following principles.

As Marketers, we must:

Do no harm. This means not only consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions but also striving to benefit all stakeholders and society at large. We must embody high ethical standards and, at a minimum, adhere to all applicable laws and regulations in the choices we make.
Foster and maintain integrity. This means striving for transparency and fairness in all aspects of the marketing ecosystem.
Embrace ethical values. This means building relationships and enhancing stakeholder confidence by affirming these core values: honesty, responsibility, equity, transparency, and citizenship.

Three things stand out to me regarding AMA’s statement: First, almost none of these general statements are uniquely applicable to marketing. The principles would be almost entirely applicable if someone were to substitute the word “marketing” for any other profession. Secondly, there is virtually no mention of acting in the best interest of the customer. Lastly, while AMA begins its statement with “Do no harm,” there is a surprising lack of specificity or any real examination of what “harm” may be intentionally or unintentionally created by marketing.

An Asymmetry of Power and Information

In some professions, those who benefit from services require specific, critical protections. As a result, providers must be licensed with renewals based on continuing education and meeting certain standards.

Let’s look at a few examples beyond medicine. Each has not just a code of ethics but also a governing idea(s) that protect the beneficiary.

LAW: Rules of Professional Conduct, which vary slightly by state, specify the professional requirements and obligations to ensure attorneys act in the best interests of their clients, including fiduciary duty and attorney-client privilege.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Financial management professionals have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their clients.
TEACHING: The Duty of Care is a legal and moral obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of students.

What’s common among these professions is an asymmetry of power and/or information. The institutions that accredit these individuals understand the necessity of protecting the beneficiaries of their care and services. While all these professionals earn a profit, and in some cases, they are extremely well paid (lawyers, doctors, financial management professionals), they have agreed to serve their client or patient first.

An asymmetry of power and information also exists within marketing and sales. Here are just a few ways in which we, as marketers and business leaders, have more information or power than current or prospective customers:

Product Knowledge: We know far more about our products than our customers, including benefits and drawbacks. This allows us to highlight benefits and hide negatives.
Persuasive Techniques: Because we know how to craft messages that influence buyers based on principles such as scarcity, reciprocity, framing, price anchoring and more, it can be easy to exploit consumer psychology.
Customer Data: Modern-day technology gives us tremendous knowledge and power about people’s shopping habits, preferences, and behavior, which allows us to segment and target customers within very specific groups. This is information that needs to be protected.
Regulatory Knowledge: While marketing has strict laws and regulations, loopholes exist. And importantly, consumers do not always understand their protections.

Possessing the above knowledge is not inherently bad, but with this power comes responsibility, just as in law or medicine, to use this information to better the customer.

If Not a License, How About A Voluntary Oath?

Imagine if, like many professions, marketing required a license. And what if that license required ethical training on what one can and can’t say, and the specific stipulations for putting the customer first? What’s more, what if you had to regularly renew your license with updated training on ethics surrounding the latest marketing platforms and tactics?

I recognize the many challenges that come with a license requirement, particularly when anyone can be a business owner, influencer or content creator. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to require anyone selling anything to be certified. But we, as brand leaders, could voluntarily train and agree to principles by which we will operate—a voluntary oath. Most companies have an employee code of conduct, but I have never seen one that also governs how that company expects its employees to market and sell to their customers.

A voluntary oath is not a new idea. The MBA Oath was written in 2009 by a group of Harvard Business School students who felt the need for a code of conduct to hold the business profession to a higher standard. Now in its 15th year, the oath has been signed by more than 15,000 students at 100 schools, “creating a community of MBAs with a shared standard for ethical and professional behavior”.

The Marketing Hippocratic Oath

I propose a voluntary code of conduct specifically for marketing—the Marketing Hippocratic Oath. These statements are identified based on the specific and current ways in which we, as marketers, advertisers, and brand leaders can do harm. As the profession evolves, so too must this oath.

I will put my customers' interests above my own. I will not profit at their expense or exploit them for financial gain.
I will do my best to create real value for my customers while ensuring that I protect the rights and interests of the community and our planet.
I will treat all those my marketing may reach as people, recognizing their emotional, social, and physical health.
I will seek to understand and uphold both the letter and spirit of the law.
I will protect my audience’s personal information in accordance with the law as well as their expectations.
I will not use my power, resources, or knowledge to manipulate, pressure, or encourage anyone to make a decision that is knowingly against his or her best interest.
I will tell the truth and will not lie, exaggerate, withhold information, or use communications to mislead or create unrealistic expectations for my audiences.
I will respect people’s lives, minimizing interruption, disruption, and unwanted invasion of privacy from my marketing activities.
I will work to reduce the way marketing contributes to consumerism and overconsumption.
I will respect all people through my communications. I will not divide, perpetuate stereotypes, reinforce negative perceptions, or manufacture fear, and I will instead use my communications to unite, educate, and inspire for the betterment of those who encounter my messages.
I will be transparent when I use artificial intelligence, and I will take accountability for its impact.

4 Ways to Implement a Marketing Oath

So now what? This all sounds great on paper, but how do we implement it? How do we ensure that we are living, day to day, according to these commitments?

Here are a few specific opportunities. Some require more systemic interventions, while others a single individual can undertake:

1) Character Interview Questions: In law, most states require passing a Character and Fitness Interview. The interview evaluates the individual’s competence and suitability to practice law based on their personal conduct and character traits. While many businesses evaluate a candidate’s values during the interview process, few likely ask character or judgment questions regarding marketing practices. Here are a few examples of questions to incorporate:

Tell me about a time when you did not pursue a marketing idea or tactic because you thought it was unethical.
Can you give an example of a brand that you think puts the company’s interest ahead of the customer?
Did you ever participate in a program when you felt pressured to communicate something in a way that exaggerated the benefit or value? How did you handle that situation?
Please share your understanding of the laws or ethical principles on X topic (e.g. privacy, influencers, advertising, etc).

2) Company Code of Conduct: Your team or business can update its code of ethics or conduct to reflect the specific ways you expect your marketing, sales, and communications teams to operate.

3) Voluntary Oath: Marketers can, individually or as a team, take an oath to follow these principles or to draft their own and review it as part of a personal mission, values, or professional development exercise. Teams can collectively review the circumstances when this oath was difficult to follow and identify potential interventions for future scenarios.

4) Teaching and Training: Academic institutions can include, and ideally require, marketing ethics courses to get a degree in marketing. Marketing associations, like the AMA, as well as other marketing events and conferences can incorporate these principles in their event and digital content through training, speaking panels, articles, and case studies.

I invite those in the marketing and branding profession and the business leaders who oversee or approve the work of marketing teams to voluntarily pledge the above marketing oath alongside me. I have posted it to my website here, and I encourage you to adopt a similar oath, using these ideas for implementation. But like harmful marketing, these can’t just be visionary, inflated words—they have to be lived actions, promises kept.