The Director General (DG) of Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Olalekan Fadolapo, has said the council is not trying to strangulate the industry through regulation, but to sanitise the sector for better professional outcomes and service delivery to the society.
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) recently engaged industry stakeholders on the need for responsible advertising within the Nigerian Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) ecosystem.
“Industry engagement is a continuous exercise,” Fadolapo, said during the recent Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) Stakeholders’ Forum in Lagos.
He further said that the forum aim to enhance the level of regulatory compliance in advertising with continuous conversations with all stakeholders.
Fadolapo also spoke about the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in advertising and the need to deepen conversation on responsible adoption of technology.
According to him, the council has taken a stand on the adoption of AI for advertorial involving Nigerian models as a means to creating jobs within the sector. “If you are advertising to over 200 million people; you should be able to find one of us worthy of conveying your message. And, you should pay that model,” he said.
Charles Odenigbo, advertising lawyer, urge the stakeholders to get familiar with the various sections of the advertising code.
According to him, unwholesome advertisement, advertising and marketing communication messaging must be brought to an end as a means of sanitising the sector.
He said fuether that advertisers stand to benefit most from the various regulatory frameworks within the sector. “The media, and the advertisers are the greatest beneficiaries, but the media and the advertisers are the greatest violators.”
The Chairperson, ASP, Omowunmi Owodunni,said advertising among other things must be socially responsible. She appealed and urged the stakeholders to abide by the laws guiding the practice.
Speaking on ‘Ethical Advertising Practice: Things to avoid in marketing communications’, Owodunni said that ethics is about doing the right thing and being responsible.
According to her, ethics is supposed to be a way of life for the practitioners. “What we found in Nigeria is that even when the law tells you to do; we still dont do.”
The Director of Regulations, ARCON, Martha Onyebuchi, said the panel’s primary responsibility is to ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines.
Speaking on ‘Nigerian Code of Advertising: Vetting processes and procedures’, Onyebuchi implored practitioners to do their due deligence before sending materials to ARCON for vetting.
“Because we are not interested in the money from the fines; we are interested more in you doing the right thing,” she said.
