In Indonesia, ad regulations are created to be violated

In Indonesia, ad regulations are created to be violated

By Emma Cameron

JAKARTA (JP): The brother and sister bicker. The brother tells
his sister she can't be an astronaut because astronauts can't eat
chocolate. But the mother comes in with her calming influence and
saves the day, telling the boy he can be an astronaut and eat
chocolate -- as long as he brushes with toothpaste of the
advertised brandname he won't have bad teeth.

It's a cute advertisement and one that's famous in Indonesia.
However, it's an advertisement that claims something that is
inaccurate; no toothpaste can prevent cavities.

It is perhaps unfair to single out this one advertisement when
unethical advertising is so prevalent in Indonesia. According to
the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) it is everywhere and
the toothpaste advertisement is simply one of the most prominent
of those they are fighting to change -- weight reduction
programs, cosmetics, medicines, soaps, it's hard to name an area
that doesn't resort to stretching the truth into fiction.

Supposedly, this type of advertising was to have been ruled
out this year with the introduction of the Consumer Protection
Act on April 20, 1999. However, the reality has been the same
lobbying that has occurred for the past 20 years. Although the
law does not become fully operational until a year after its
enactment, those expecting to find protection from the world of
advertising after that date will be sorely disappointed.

Vice Chairperson of YLKI, Agus Pambagio believes the
advertising industry will remain corrupt until the money politics
of Indonesian business stops. "Money is a second god in this
world, it can be used to avoid and break the law," he said.

With no law enforcement in place YLKI continues to raise
awareness through the media. "It's better to use public pressure
rather than the law because it's more effective. If no one wants
to buy your product it's the end of the world. With the law you
need a year to nail them down," Agus said.

However many Indonesians simply accept that advertising is
about trying to sell a product, even if that means their children
will be mislead.

Angelina is a 32-year-old feedmill worker with one daughter
and believes it is her job as a parent to protect her child from
misleading advertisements rather than the role of advertising
companies or television stations.

"Children are like a book. They always express what they think
or what they want. If they think they can eat as much chocolate
as they want if they use Pepsodent, they generally say that to
their parents. Of course, their parents have to explain the truth
to them," she said.

PT Unilever (producers of Pepsodent) refused to issue a
statement on the issue.

The laws currently in place are also generally ignored leaving
an industry where anything goes as long as you can get away with
it. According to Indonesian law, overseas advertisements cannot
be shown on Indonesian television.

Nico Lakahena, an advertising accounts supervisor at SCTV said
the law was originally put in place with good intentions, "If I'm
not mistaken, it's to encourage local production houses to
improve their standards."

However, Indonesia still does not have the technology to
compete at an international level and overseas companies now know
that to air their advertisement in Indonesia they simply have to
throw money at the problem.

"If an ad is made within Indonesia it is Rp 500,000 for a
permit, if it's foreign made it's Rp 2.5 million to Rp 3 million.
When the regulations first came out about three years ago it was
up to Rp 10 million for a 15-second advertisement," Nico said.

However, it's not only the obvious advertising on television
that is abused but the more insidious forms of school promotions
that specifically target children.

Many schools in Jakarta get free milk for their pupils. What
seems to be an innocent program of free milk to schools is a
carefully orchestrated advertising scheme. The targeted schools
are usually private ones in wealthy areas where the nutrition of
the children is not an issue, leaving aside the fact that most
companies provide flavored milk which is not healthy.

Pambagio likened the scheme to biogenetic engineering where
farmers are given a seed which then makes them dependent on the
company who gave them the seed. "You give kids milk, they like it
and ask their parents 'mum, dad, can we have this milk?'," he
said.

The Don Bosco Primary School, in the East Jakarta area of Pulo
Mas is one school which milk programs have visited. Out of ten
Grade five and six children at the school, four of them asked
their parents to buy their favorite milk for them.

Pambagio believes programs like these need to be regulated.

"We would prefer such programs to be done through the
government with a bidding process and some criteria," he said.

At the moment, despite the checks and balances available no
one seems willing to take responsibility for unethical
advertising.

YLKI believes the media should screen their advertisements
while television stations continue to rely on the government to
accept or reject ads.

Meanwhile, according to Pambagio, advertisers hide behind the
excuse of creativity.

"The problem with advertising associations is they're always
talking about creativity, we're talking about ethics."