Avoid Offensive Acts by Respecting Human Dignity and Growing Cultural Knowledge

Concerns about fake news, corrupt governments, and fragile economies are driving distrust across the globe along with increasing class divisions. These are the findings of the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer which surveyed over 32,000 people across 28 countries. Nearly two thirds of the respondents observed an ‘unprecedented lack of civility and mutual respect in society” (Edelman, 2023). Should we be surprised then by companies such as Gucci promoting an offensive culturally insensitive sweater? Ironically, we should because the Trust Barometer also found business as the only institution viewed by respondents as ethical and competent (Edelman, 2023). Yet the report did warn about the increased pressure on businesses to do right by society or face “being politized when engaging in contentious issues” (Myers, 2023). The question then becomes, how can businesses rise to societal expectations, emerging as ethical forces for good, across increasingly diverse and polarized consumers? Trust is garnered by companies that behave ethically and ethical behavior in today’s world demands cultural understanding. Culture is a system of learned and shared meanings (Geertz, 1973; Hofstede, 1997). As such culture can be examined from global, national, religious, or generational lines, as well as ethnic or racial perspectives, gender orientations, or even across organizations and brands (Gudykunst, 2003). Whatever the context being examined, culture is critically important to understand because it impacts the beliefs, values, and norms of the people of interest (de Mooij, 2013; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). In the case of Gucci, we see how trust was eroded and people were hurt by the decision to produce and market the Balaclava knit top (blackface sweater). Whether consciously aware of or not to the offensive nature of the product, developing an object for profit with little regard for the origin of the idea or the deep-rooted meaning behind an image is irresponsible and unethical. What Gucci and other companies must do is to make an ethical commitment to treating people with human dignity first (Donaldson, 1996) rather than developing objects for profit with little cultural consideration. Effective communication requires advertisers to be culturally sensitive to their target audience when encoding messages because the messages are being decoded by the target with their own values, life experiences, and perspectives (de Mooij, 2013). Drawing from McGuire’s (1969) model of persuasive communication we can see the complex influence of culture on the communication process. Culture influences the creation of a message (sender’s culture), the message itself, and the context within which advertising, and communication occur (medium), as well as how recipients process the information (consumer/recipient’s culture). If a brand such as Gucci is only focused on getting the next potential product to market without investing in understanding how consumers may receive the product or message, particularly one that might already be steeped in a culture outside of the creator, they are disrespecting the human dignity of their consumers. Fashion and advertisements convey much more than just clothing and messages, they also convey dominant ideological beliefs, social norms, and cultural values (Frith, 1998; Pollay, 1986).