Plain Packaging Deemed to Disrupt Investment and Suppress Creative Business
The plan to implement plain packaging, or the standardisation of cigarette pack design and colours, is seen as potentially putting pressure on investment and creative business in Indonesia.
The policy being prepared by the Ministry of Health through a draft Minister of Health Regulation is feared to have a knock-on effect on the advertising, film and creative sectors amid the government’s efforts to boost economic growth and investment.
Susilo Dwihatmanto, chairman of the Advertising Supervisory Board of the Indonesian Advertising Companies Association, said the tobacco industry has long been one of the sectors contributing to advertising spending, although its share has now declined compared with a decade ago.
According to him, advertising spending from the cigarette and e-cigarette industry is now below 10 percent.
However, the introduction of new rules such as plain packaging still has the potential to put additional pressure on the advertising ecosystem.
Susilo said the tobacco products industry is now a fully regulated sector.
Various restrictions on advertising and promotion have been imposed, ranging from limits on television advertising airtime to bans on billboards in a number of locations.
In addition, the tobacco industry also faces fiscal pressure through excise increases. As a result, plain packaging is seen as likely to further narrow the business space of an industry that has long been one of the advertisers across various media.
Susilo argued that packaging cannot be viewed merely as a product wrapper. Packaging also functions as a brand identity as well as a means of communication with consumers.
“Packaging design is meant to give identity to a product or brand, a communication tool that works without words. So when we look at packaging, it already tells us whether this is an e-cigarette or a regular cigarette, filtered or non-filtered — that includes the colours, logo, typography, and pack design used to build brand identity,” he said.
According to him, removing visual elements from packaging could make various products look uniform. In reality, each product can have different characteristics, from raw materials and quality to the price segment being targeted.
Similar concerns were voiced by Hermawan Sutanto, chairman of the Indonesian Video Streaming Association. He believes the draft regulation could have an impact on the development of the national creative industry.
Hermawan said this is a concern because the government is currently also pushing to increase investment and develop the creative economy so that national industry becomes more competitive.
“This is highly counterproductive amid the government’s efforts to increase investment value, develop the creative economy, and encourage national film industry players to grow and go international,” Hermawan said.