Chapter Twelve - Public Relations

Yes. public relations activities like image consulting ethical are ethical provided that they are do not convey lies. The way you present yourself is very important. Appearances matter to people whether they are willing to admit it or not. People will make judgements (whether correct or incorrect) on you based on you present yourself, ie. your clothes, hair style, etc. For example, when you go to an interview you dress up and try to make a good impression of yourself. You would not go to your interview in an old t-shirt and sweats, instead you would a dress if your a girl or a nice pair of pants and a button up shirt, something nice.
Image consultants are very helpful in showing their client the way the want others to perceive them. For instance it is very important for President Bush to look good. How would it look if our President dressed like a slob when he goes to other countries? Not good. Also, when you go to the bank would you choose the teller dressed professionally or the one in beach clothes? Most likely you would choose the teller in the professional attire. Image consulting is important to help people obtain a good image and increase their success.

Although PR is important it can be used unethically for example, P.T Barnum's exaggerated claims about Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind were lies promoted as truth. There are definitely examples of this today. The first that comes to mind is the Magic Bullet commercials. While this product can be useful, the commercial that promotes it is extremely exaggerated. They say you can make a five second lunch! But of course that is only the estimate for how long it takes to puree what is in the container not the time it takes to get everything else ready. Another example is the commercials for OxyClean.