PANA, KBP, ASC adopt revised ICC marketing code

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and the Ad Standards Council (ASC) have adopted, in part or in full, the provisions of the revised Consolidated International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications.

ICC is a world business organization. It is the only representative body that speaks with authority on behalf of enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world. The ICC was founded in 1919 and today it groups thousands of member companies and associations from over 130 countries.

The revised Consolidated ICC Marketing Code is the work of the ICC’s Commission on Marketing and Advertising, a major rule-setter in international advertising self-regulation since 1937.

The Commission on Marketing and Advertising is composed of policy experts from ICC member companies from the marketing and advertising industry, including legal advisors from industrial and commercial enterprises and lawyers in private practice, representing a wide range of national backgrounds and business representative organizations.

The revised consolidated ICC marketing code, launched recently at a global conference in Buenos Aires provides new protection for Internet users and detailed standards for marketers selling to them are highlighted in a newly revised code of global marketing practice. 

The Code sets out the dos and don’ts on many topical and difficult marketing issues including:

• Setting conditions and limits for online behavioral targeting of advertising (OBA), based on interest profiles created by tracking web browsing habits of consumers;

• Establishing restrictions on products that may be marketed to children and information gathered from them;

• Specifying guidelines for making responsible environmental marketing claims and creating sound food and beverage ads;

• Setting standards for ethical behavior and transparency on digital communications for the new technology players, including mobile operators, search engines, application developers, information aggregators and data gatherers;

• Protecting consumer privacy with clear guidance on consumers’ rights, including the right to know what information is acquired by a marketer and the standards for the collection, use and safeguarding of personal data when it is collected.

In adopting the ICC code, PANA president Jojo Rojo said: “PANA ‘s vision and mission are anchored on globally-aligned initiatives to promote self-regulation, as well as responsible and truthful communications. Our adoption and promotion of the ICC Marketing Code ensures that our member-companies and the advertising industry at large, remain attuned to face the current global challenges, particularly the fast-growing digital media and the greater consumer vigilance and awareness due to the wide adoption of the Internet.”

For their part, KBP president Ruperto Nicdao Jr. said the KBP decided to adopt relevant parts of the ICC Code to its own Broadcast Code. The broadcast code, which contains program and advertising standards, has been updated to keep up with new developments brought about by technology and changing contemporary standards and practices.  “The ICC Marketing Code is like a gift from heaven as it provided all the inputs we need to update our code based on the latest marketing developments in global business”, Nicdao added.

The Philippine advertising industry has practiced self-regulation since 1974. Today, that task falls under the Ad Standards Council (ASC), established by the KBP, PANA and 4As-Philippines to handle screening of all broadcast, out-of-home, print and digital advertising and settlement of disputes regarding advertising content. The ASC took over the functions of the AdBoard ACRC (Advertising Content & Regulations Committee) starting March 2008.