If its not done ethically, advertising won't be trusted. If

Jef I. Richards, scholar of communication and keen observer of commerce, once declared: “If it’s not done ethically, advertising won’t be trusted. If consumers don’t trust it, advertising is pointless.” In this single statement lies the essence of all human exchange: without ethics, there can be no trust, and without trust, even the most dazzling promises collapse into emptiness. For advertising is not merely the selling of goods—it is the forging of a bond between those who offer and those who receive. If that bond is poisoned by deceit, then all the clever words and images are no more than dust in the wind.

The ancients would have understood this law well. In the bustling markets of Athens or the bazaars of Babylon, merchants who cheated customers soon found themselves shunned, their reputations tarnished beyond repair. A single act of dishonesty could undo years of careful trade. Trust, once broken, is a vessel shattered; it cannot be mended easily. Richards reminds us that advertising, like trade itself, survives only when rooted in truth. A lie may win a coin today, but it loses the marketplace tomorrow.

History gives us many examples of this truth. In the early twentieth century, snake-oil salesmen roamed the towns of America, peddling false cures with grand words and gilded bottles. For a time they profited, but soon their deception was revealed, and laws of truth-in-advertising were born. The public demanded ethics, and without it, trust in medicine and commerce alike would have collapsed. Contrast this with companies like Johnson & Johnson in its early years, whose reputation for purity and honesty won generations of loyal customers. In both cases, the principle is clear: deception destroys, but honesty endures.

There is a deeper power here than commerce alone. For Richards’ warning is not only about business, but about life itself. Every word we speak, every promise we make, is a kind of advertisement of our soul. If our words are not ethical, if our deeds do not match them, we too will lose trust. And when trust is lost, our influence, our friendships, even our place in the community, becomes pointless. Thus, advertising is but a mirror of human relationships; both rest upon the sacred foundation of truth.

There is something heroic in choosing the ethical path, even when deception promises quick gain. For honesty often walks the harder road: it may mean slower profits, stricter discipline, greater patience. But in the end, it builds something no deception can imitate: trust that endures beyond one transaction, beyond one moment, beyond one lifetime. To act unethically is to build castles in sand; to act ethically is to lay foundations in stone.

So what lesson shall we carry forward, children of tomorrow? It is this: when you create, when you speak, when you promise—choose ethics first. Do not be seduced by the short triumph of deceit. Understand that all human exchange, whether in business, in art, or in love, depends upon trust, and that trust is earned only through honesty. If your words and deeds are true, they will carry weight; if not, they will vanish like smoke.

Practical wisdom flows from this. Before you make a promise, ask if you can keep it. Before you present an image of yourself or your work, ask if it reflects reality. In business, choose transparency over manipulation; in personal life, choose sincerity over convenience. Remember always Richards’ warning: without trust, your words are pointless. With it, they become powerful enough to move hearts, build communities, and shape history.

Thus the teaching endures: “If it’s not done ethically, advertising won’t be trusted. If consumers don’t trust it, advertising is pointless.” It is not only a law for merchants, but a law for mankind. For in truth lies trust, and in trust lies all that is lasting.