Self-regulation: Adisa calls for the emulation of India, UK, others

By Amechi Obiakpu

The President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and Chairman Heads of Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG), Lanre Adisa has called stakeholders in the country’s advertising ecosystem to look towards self-regulation as practised in some other climes like India, UK and Brazil among others.

According to him, to get the advertising industry of our dream, self-regulation may have to be embraced at some time in the future.

Adisa who heads one of the leading advertising agencies in the country, Noah’s Ark, gave the advice while speaking at the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) Stakeholders forum on Thursday in Ikeja. He spoke on the topic, “Regulatory Compliance: Expectations of Stakeholders from ARCON”.

“Considering the current state of our society/industry, it is easy for one to understand the current regulatory regime. However, if we all share the ambition of raising the standards of Nigerian advertising to compete with the best from anywhere in the world, there is a need to look at the leading countries we aspire to as regards their regulatory policies,” he said.

Continuing he said: “It may interest you to know that the UK, USA, South Africa, Brazil and India practise self-regulation. In all instances, there are bodies equivalent to our ASP that the public can lodge complaints with when ethical codes and sensitivities are violated. The closest countries that have adopted statutory regulatory frameworks like what obtains in Nigeria are Saudi Arabia, UAE and Rwanda. When seen from the lens of religion, culture and political hegemony, one can easily understand what may have informed these regulatory choice.

“The advertising ecosystem of our dreams is one that will be ready to embrace self-regulation in the nearest future. This does not in any way diminish the great work of ARCON. If anything, it will require that sectoral bodies to enforce their codes of conduct among their members, thus reducing incidents of breaches. It will also require further strengthening of the ASP to attend to breaches as may be reported by the public or wronged brands,” the AAAN boss noted, even as he added that, “in such instances, ARCON is at liberty to sanction offenders as it may deem fit”.

According to him, “Self-regulation will demand a higher sense of responsibility from agencies and lead to a raising of standards as we have seen in other climes. Part of this will also demand that agencies apply AI-powered tools that help to ensure that creative work does not run against the law,” he said.

While commending the efforts and initiatives of ARCON, aimed at sanitizing the industry in the realm of regulation, Adisa is optimistic that the current system can help build a foundation for that future.

He emphasised that, advertising has evolved beyond imagination. The same evolution applies to the question of regulation of advertising- pointing that today’s ARCON is a far more dynamic body than its predecessor- as a result of its regulatory powers as backed by the ARCON Act of 22 which doesn’t just limit the body to regulating creative work, but also the entire business of the advertising ecosystem, under the dynamic leadership of its pioneer Director General, Dr Lekan Fadolapo, the effect of its work, Adisa said can be felt across the “entire gamut of our industry like never before”.

However, he charged the regulatory authority on some of the expectations from stakeholders which according to him include, a dynamic forward looking regulatory framework vis, a vetting system that doesn’t water down the quality of the content in its bid to maintain ethical standards; a collaborative industry regulation rather than confrontation: regular updates to the Advertising Code, setting up an industry sandbox for testing new advertising formats, and establishing a dedicated Digital Advertising Council comprising sectoral groups, digital platforms, and consumer advocacy organisations.

Speaking earlier in his opening remark ARCON DG, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, said ARCON is not stifling creativity but only interested in ensuring that advertising work comply with laid down regulations. He observed that though, no system is perfect hence the need for continuous collaboration and engagement to put stakeholders on the side of the law while going about their adverting business which is what the ASP stakeholders forum is about.

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