Ads agencies lack moral principles: House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the House of Representatives have
\ncharged advertising executives in Indonesia as lacking in moral
\nprinciples.<\/p>\n
Sophan Sophiaan, who led the charge during a hearing yesterday
\nwith the Indonesian Association of Advertising Agencies, picked
\nthe Wrangler jeans television commercial to underline his point
\nthat advertising agencies are violating society's moral codes.<\/p>\n
Sophan said the ad, in which a young woman takes off her jeans
\nto extinguish a fire, \"does not fit with the Indonesian culture\".<\/p>\n
The House Commission I for information and culture held a
\nhearing with the top advertising executives, an event long
\nawaited by the public because of the mounting complaints about
\nsome of the advertisements that have been appearing on television
\nand in newspapers.<\/p>\n
Sophan, a film producer, took particular offense to the
\nSoundmax commercial, which suggests that the Soundmax television
\nset has the quality of rock music, but affordable price of
\nkroncong (traditional Indonesian music).<\/p>\n
Sophan said the advertisement implies that kroncong is cheap.<\/p>\n
Marwah Daud Ibrahim, a mass communication expert, said the
\nimpact of television commercials on viewers is greater than
\ntelevision programs because they are repeated over and over.<\/p>\n
\"Children will likely keep ad jingles and pictures in their
\nmemory,\" she said. \"The cultural challenge of advertisements is
\neven greater than other television programs, because it controls
\nthe human mind-set, so that the social accountability of
\nadvertisement producers is very big.\"<\/p>\n
Marwah said advertisements should not be allowed to appear too
\nfrequently.<\/p>\n
\"In some countries, a television advertisement cannot appear
\nmore than once in 30 minutes. Here, the same advertisement can
\nappear five to six times in that period,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Koes Pudjianto, chairman of the advertising association, found
\nthe House's accusations somewhat unfair. \"We tend to look only at
\nthe negative aspects of advertisement. Actually the positive ones
\nabound,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fachry Mohammad, another association executive, supported
\nKoes' assertion, citing the various public service advertisements
\nput out in the media, such as the government's salt ionization
\ncampaign, polio immunization program, public health, safe sex,
\nfamily planning, anti-AIDS drive and traffic discipline.<\/p>\n
Koes proposed that the number of these kind of advertisements
\nbe increased.<\/p>\n
He suggested a regulation which would compel all advertisement
\nagencies to join the association to ensure better supervision.<\/p>\n
In addition, any new advertising agencies must obtain the
\nrecommendation of the association before obtaining the
\ngovernment's operating license, he added. (16)<\/p>",
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