虚假广告事例味千拉面(英文).docVIP

Marketing ethics Case Study: Ajisen Ramen Ajisen Ramen is a well-known ramen chain which entered Chinese market in 2001 and has now become a leading fast food restaurant operator in China. One of the most famous products of Ajisen is white broth. Stating that the slow-cooking soup has “fresh taste” and “four times the calcium content in milk and ten times that in meat”, Ajisen has been charging consumers a higher price compared with other ramen restaurants. However, since July 2011, the company had been accused of using concentrated liquid, instead of the pork bones as advertised, to make the soup. Ajisen China later admitted the accusation but it still emphasized the high calcium content contained in the noodle soup, based on a test evaluation conducted by the China Agricultural University CAU . This statement was denied by a professor of the CAU who took part in the evaluation. The professor pointed out that the sample they tested was only concentrated liquid, but not ramen soup. The media reports soon caused a clamor. Amid criticism about its fraudulent advertising, Ajisen experienced a sharp decrease in its share price as well as sales revenue in a short time. According to a survey, the majority of participants felt disgusted and angry about Ajisen’s overstatement about the food and misleading promotions Tang, 2011 . In current business world, marketing ethics has been an increasingly important factor when the public evaluate the performance of a company. In order to enhance consumer’s confidence in the integrity of the whole market, marketers are required to practice ethical values that are widely accepted. How to generate revenue is not the only task that companies should concern. In Ajisen’s “concentrated soup” scandal, however, the company has failed to fulfill the code of ethics promoted by American Marketing Association AMA and committed unethical behavior. Under the guide from AMA, there are six basic values that firms should comply with: honesty