In the fast-paced world of advertising, where impressions and exposure are sold with glossy promises, there lies a darker underbelly that many small business owners only discover after it’s too late. Predatory media sales reps—particularly in traditional outlets like TV and radio—are all too eager to sign deals with anyone who can write a check, regardless of whether the campaign will actually deliver results. As a seasoned marketing professional, I’ve seen too many good businesses burned by bad media buys. It’s time we talk honestly about the ethics of advertising and why not every sale is a good sale.
The Hidden Dangers of Predatory Media Sales Reps
Predatory media sales reps are not just a nuisance—they’re a liability to the integrity of the marketing industry. These reps often work on commission, and their primary goal is to close the sale, not to help your business grow. They’ll pitch you airtime or ad slots with impressive-sounding metrics, but they won’t tell you that your target audience won’t be watching. They rely on your lack of media buying knowledge to push deals that are more beneficial to their bottom line than yours.
The danger is especially acute for small business owners, who are often less experienced in media planning and more susceptible to the pressure tactics of seasoned salespeople. A slick presentation, some cherry-picked Nielsen stats, and a promise of “exposure” can be enough to convince a business to part with thousands of dollars. But exposure means nothing if it’s not to the right audience, at the right time, through the right channel.
Even worse, these sales reps rarely stick around after the check clears. Once the deal is done, they move on to the next target, leaving the business owner wondering why the phones aren’t ringing. There’s little to no follow-up, no analytics, and no accountability. It’s a transactional relationship masquerading as a strategic partnership—and it’s eroding trust in the advertising industry as a whole.
Why Ethical Advertising Starts With Saying No
One of the most important—and underrated—skills of a good marketer is knowing when to reject a client. That’s right. Sometimes, the most ethical and professional move is to say, “This isn’t the right fit.” A client who won’t benefit from your product or service is not a win—they’re a future case study in wasted ad spend. And if you’re in the business of building long-term success for your clients, you need to be just as committed to who you won’t sell to as who you will.
Rejecting a sale might seem counterintuitive in a revenue-driven world, but it’s a hallmark of true marketing professionalism. If your product won’t help the client achieve their goals, selling it anyway is not just bad business—it’s unethical. It’s the equivalent of a doctor prescribing medication for a condition you don’t have, just because they’ll earn a commission. Clients may not always appreciate the “no” in the moment, but they’ll respect your honesty and integrity in the long run.
Ethical advertising is about alignment—matching the right message with the right audience through the right medium. That kind of alignment takes strategy, consultation, and often, restraint. It’s not about selling airtime or ad space just because it’s available. It’s about creating value. And sometimes, creating value means walking away from a deal that just doesn’t make sense—even if it means walking away from immediate revenue.
How TV Ad Sales Often Exploit Small Businesses
Nowhere is this predatory behavior more rampant than in local TV ad sales. Television still carries a perception of prestige—many small business owners see themselves on TV and assume they’ve “made it.” Sales reps lean into that emotion, convincing them to drop thousands on a 30-second spot that airs at 2:00 AM on a Tuesday. It’s technically “TV exposure,” but it’s not exposure that will move the needle.
Here’s the dirty little secret: a lot of these late-night or off-peak time slots are inventory that TV stations can’t sell to major advertisers. So they push it on small businesses who don’t know better. The result? A nice commission for the sales rep and a useless commercial for the business owner. It’s a bait-and-switch wrapped in a bow of “brand awareness,” and it does real harm to companies trying to grow on limited budgets.
What makes this practice particularly insidious is the lack of targeting. Unlike digital platforms where you can pinpoint your audience down to zip code and interest, traditional TV ads are a blunt instrument. If your customer base is millennials in urban areas, why would you buy a TV spot that airs during reruns of Matlock? Yet this happens all the time, because the rep doesn’t care who sees the ad—only that the invoice gets paid. Until the industry holds itself to higher ethical standards, small businesses will continue to be easy prey.
Predatory media sales practices aren’t just bad for clients—they’re bad for all of us in the marketing industry who are trying to build trust, deliver results, and create lasting value. It’s time we call out these tactics for what they are: unethical, short-sighted, and corrosive. If you’re in the business of advertising, your job isn’t just to sell—it’s to guide, to educate, and yes, sometimes to say no. Because real marketing isn’t about making a quick buck. It’s about making a difference.
