Advertising constitutes a vital stream among the marketing functions of a business; it being a major driver of the firm‟s integrated promotions for pushing sales in today‟s highly competitive business environment. Sales and especially advertising are two areas which are directly connected to the external network of a firm. While most companies revere the pursuit of their businesses on a regular moral understanding, there are some firms which continue to follow both good and bad business practices. The issue of ethics in advertising bears great concern to all firms engaged in business worldwide, and to consumers likewise. There have been numerous studies conducted by eminent scholars regarding the ethical aspects of the advertising profession. This paper attempts to modestly overview and consolidate the literature relating to ethics and ethical issues in the field of advertising under four umbrella dimensions, namely the ethical violations pertaining to the sender, the message, the product, and the target audience of the advertising communication. It also discusses what has been done to address those areas by government, self-regulation, and researchers. A section on concluding remarks suggests theoretical perspectives that help to highlight problems which would still need to be addressed and/or resolved in the future. Keywords: Advertising ethics, promotion ethics, marketing ethics, ethical violations, ethical issues