CONTROVERSIES continue to trail the controversial advertisement, ‘All Eyes on The Judiciary’, even as the agency responsible for its deployment, Intercontinental Marketing & Communication Consortium Limited, recently admitted its error, and tendered an unreserved apology, to the nation’s apex regulatory body in the ad sector, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON),for deploying the ad without statutory approval.
The agency’s Managing Director, Stephen Ogboko, in a letter dated August 17 and addressed to the Chairman, Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), acknowledged the agency’s breach of Article 24 (a) of the Nigeria Advertising Practice Code, by exposing the ad without getting green light from ARCON.
‘The article stipulates that all advertising, marketing communications, and related materials must undergo ARCON’s vetting process and secure the approval certificate of the Standards Panel, prior to public exposure.
Describing the action as ‘not intentional’, the agency explained that the artwork for the campaign was sent to a Laison Officer of ARCON, Mr. Markus Inji Lukman, who had handled such job for it in the past.
He added that his agency decided to go on with the exposure, after making the required payment to the ARCON staff, and getting his assurances that the material would be approved.
“We are deeply disappointed that this happened, and are awfully sorry for any inconvenience it has caused. We would never knowingly do anything to violate the law or the regulations guiding advertising practice, jeopardise our practice licence, or bring disaffection to our dear country’s judiciary,” Ogboko stated.
Expressing the agency’s readiness to make amends and ensure that such does not repeat itself, the Intercontinental Marketing boss added that the agency would be using its staff in Lagos to vet future advertisements from ARCON Lagos Office.
We’ve queried Lukman —ARCON Source
But would the apology be enough to sooth frayed nerves?
Checks with some senior officers at the apex regulatory agency in the nation’s ad sector, revealed that answers to this may not really be in the affirmative.
For instance, besides the two top officers of the agency, a Director and another Deputy Director, already axed by the management, a source at the Lagos Office of the agency disclosed that the said Markus Lukman is presently being queried over his role, regarding the issue.
The source further told Brands & Marketing that while the letter might mitigate, to some extent, whatever sanction likely to be handed down to the agency at the end of the day, the probability of the agency coming out unscathed on the issue is hugely unlikely.
For instance, the texture of the campaign, the source stated, put ARCON in a tight corner to wield the big stick. Besides having to do with the nation’s Judiciary’, ARCON also has to prove its much-professed claim of being apolitical, and the only way to do that is to diligently investigate the case, and bring any individual, found culpable, to justice.
“I believe the issues here are too sensitive to be glossed over,” the source stated.
Besides, the attempts by Intercontinental Marketing at absolving itself may not really be foolproof, the source added. The source told Brands & Marketing that about ten concepts, regarding the ad, were submitted for approval, out of which one was erroneously approved by ASP, a reason some of the staff of the secretariat are being sanctioned. The other nine were not approved. Curiously, the agency did not even expose the one approved in error.
“Can we, therefore, rightly call this a mistake?” the source asked rhetorically.
Erring agency, not a member —OAAN
Unfortunately, it not only rains for the Intercontinental Marketing, it pours! For instance, checks from the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), the umbrella body for outdoor advertising practitioners in the country, revealed that the erring agency is not even a member of the association. Brands & Marketing authoritatively learnt that though there were efforts, by the agency, in the past to join the association, it never bothered to commence the process; thereby losing the opportunity of an institutional support it would have received at this time.
“This is why we say people should join the association. If the agency had been a member, the plea would have been coming from the association now. But as it is, there is nothing the association can do since it’s not a member,” a senior member of the executive of OAAN argued.
The officer, who would not want his name in print, explained that one of the benefits members enjoy is that of quality training where they learn the ethics of the practice, and how to avoid stepping on landmines in the course of practice.
Lessons learnt…
Perhaps one of such lessons is for practitioners to always follow due process. Not a few believe that Intercontinental Marketing would have saved itself a lot of trouble if it had interfaced directly with ARCON, rather than an individual.
Another is that collegiate efforts always have their benefits. With its refusal to be a part of the umbrella body of the nation’s outdoor advertisers, OAAN, Intercontinental Marketing, unwittingly, shot itself in the leg and bungled any chance of an institutional support from what would have been its natural constituency.
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