Ad council takes consumer interest as top priority

MANILA, Philippines - The outdoor media industry cries “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

This is in response to some critics and groups that are lambasting the industry for installing billboards with visuals and messages they deem too provocative.

Troy Bañez, spokesperson for Outdoor Media Advocacy Group (OMAG), points out that billboard suppliers don’t have jurisdiction over the content of the advertisements.

“The advertisers and the Ad Standards Council (ASC) of the Philippines are responsible for the content because all materials are pre-screened prior to broadcast or installation,” he says. “We just provide the sites or medium for their messages.”

OMAG is composed of major billboard operators and the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP).

For their part, suppliers should require all materials obtain the ASC’s approval prior to installation. “As a general rule, we observe a no approval, no installation policy,” Bañez insists.

ASC is the censorship arm of the advertising industry. Its screening committees are composed of advertising and marketing practitioners from various sectors that deliberate and approve or reject all ad materials according to the current advertising code of ethics. This includes materials for TV and radio broadcast, print, Internet, out of home, and cinema ads.

“Billboard ad contents are reviewed by the ASC with consumer’s interest as a paramount consideration and to safeguard truth in advertising,” corroborates OMAG member and United Neon Ads president Danny Lim.

The industry assures the public that outdoor ad group members themselves help ensure that all policies are followed and errant members are reprimanded. United Neon, for one, is adamant against accepting projects from advertisers of the so-called “sin products” like tobacco, gambling and alcohol. It is the policy of the company not to accept sin products and lewd or sexually explicit printed material for display in our structures even if it is approved by ASC.