As I was leafing through a property magazine I received at home, the illustration and the heading of the editorial (or should I call it advertorial?) caught my eye. It was specifically targeting separated couples and enticing them to make use of the agency's services. The promise: offering to help couples sell their property when they are splitting up!

Nothing wrong in that, one might think, but on second thoughts, do marketing men have ethical responsibilities? Target marketing sometimes generates controversy and concern. If it can be interpreted that the disadvantaged and vulnerable are being targeted, then this might have a negative impact on the business.

Such messages can give marketing a very bad reputation indeed. Cigarette, beer, and fast-food marketers have received criticism in the past. The internet has come under attack because of the loose boundaries and lack of control in marketing practices.

It is becoming a major issue today: the conflict between the social responsibility that many people feel marketing men should demonstrate, and today's pressure to maximise profits.

Here one needs to ask: is there a conflict between giving people what interests them and giving them what is in their best interests?

Some take the view that only the market should decide. In other words, marketing men are no moralists and should not take a paternal role; they should give the people what they want, regardless of perceived consequences.

At the other extreme, those who advocate a paternalistic approach or even censorship feel that promotional material should be controlled so that it only presents things that are in the public's best interest. Of course, who decides what's in the public interest is the major issue here.

Here is some food for thought. Journalism is popular, as well as news that caters for specific political viewpoints. But do these represent a socially responsible way of keeping the public informed in a democracy?

Many commercials are designed to appeal to our egos, insecurities and secret dreams. But trying to convince us that we should spend money addressing the problems of separated couples seems minor when compared with greater global social problems such as homelessness, unemployment, Aids, world hunger, and war.

Although glamorous lifestyles, fantasy and sex definitely sell, and therefore profits increase, does the gratuitous use of these themes violate a sense of social responsibility?

Are there any negative social consequences?