Required: Defining Responsibility in Advertising

I was recently asked to define responsibility in advertising. So, I thought I’d start with the real definitions of advertising, and responsibility.

Advertising: the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Responsibility: capability of fulfilling an obligation or duty; the quality of being reliable or trustworthy.

To me, advertising is a combination of things, and one of those things is being socially, and ethically responsible. Advertising is a socially responsible form of communication with the intent to persuade, all while living up to a code of ethics.