Wonder Woman or Blunder Woman ?

No one is perfect, not even celebrities. With multiple tools and resources at their disposal, even public figures are likely to have the occasional blunder here and there. One example of this would be a blunder by Gal Gadot, the actress who portrayed ‘Wonder Woman’ in the 2017 film. Endorsements through social media are to be expected from celebrities like Gal, but when endorsing products and services a certain level of integrity and responsibility plays an important role too. When Gal was endorsing a phone from Huawei, a competitor of Apple’s IPhone, the last thing you would expect to see from her tweet promoting the Huawei phone, is the fact she used an iPhone to send out the tweet. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened. With today’s social media climate, users were quick to call Gal out for her blunder, and point out if she cannot even use a Huawei for a paid endorsement, how can she expect her fans to purchase one.

First of Bowen’s guidelines are to be fair and prudent. Gal was neither as she did not take in to account Twitter would show her using an iPhone while promoting a Huawei phone (Bowen, 2013).

Second is deception, which Gal is engaging in. Promoting Huawei yet she is not even using one to promote it (Bowen, 2013). Her fans are deceived into thinking they should buy a Huawei when in reality she is selling something she does not use.

The third is maintaining dignity and respect, which Gal’s endorsement does not show for the public (Bowen, 2013). She should respect the public enough to know that they can see her tweeting from an iPhone while promoting a competitor.

The fourth guideline to eschew secrecy does not apply to Gal’s blunder. However, the fifth guideline ‘is it reversible ?’ applies to this situation (Bowen, 2013). As Gal should ask herself, how would she feel if an individual used her admiration for them to deceive her, and tell her to buy a product they do not use at all.

The sixth and seventh guideline of clearly identify and being transparent does not apply to Gal’s blunder. However, the eighth guideline of rational analysis does. For example, Gal would benefit from viewing this situation from the public’s point of view, to see how it feels to be deceived (Bowen, 2013).

From guidelines ten to fifteen only the twelfth could be applied, which is to establish responsibility (Bowen, 2013). Gal should reflect and question whether it is right to endorse something you do not use, even while promoting the product.

In conclusion, it is easy to judge celebrities like Gal Gadot, but at the end of the day, they are just human beings. Rather than just point out Gal’s mistake, it would be better to educate her. She would greatly benefit from applying Bowen’s ethical guidelines (Bowen, 2013). Therefore, the next time she endorses a product, she will realize the impact it will have not just on herself, but also the public.

References

Bowen, S. (2013). Using Classic Social Media Cases to Distill Ethical Guidelines for Digital Engagement. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 28(2), 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2013.793523