The elusive ethics of Indonesian advertising
The elusive ethics of Indonesian advertising
By T. Sima Gunawan
JAKARTA (JP): A well-dressed man is dancing in a pub with several girls when his handphone rings.
His wife is calling from home.
"Oh, I am in the middle of a meeting," he lies.
It is not a movie scene but a TV commercial for Motorola handphones. The advertiser was obviously trying to portray the lifestyle of a successful young executive who carried a handphone wherever he went. He looked happy and trendy and was surrounded by beautiful women. Instead of depicting him as a good husband, however, the advertiser pictured him as a liar.
It is only one of what many Indonesians consider inappropriate commercials. The ads are found on TV and the radio as well as in print media and on billboards.
A TV commercial for Baygon mosquito coils has a popular artist boasting that the product "smells good". This is obviously misleading as the fumes from the burning mosquito coils is harmful to people's health.
A man is seen on TV sawing an iron bar without safety goggles, sparking a strong public criticism.
Yet another controversial Indonesian TV commercial stars rock singer Harry Mukti. He is looking for a television with "metal" sound and a sharp picture. The shop attendant recommends Soundmax from Goldstar, saying that "the sound is metal but the price is kroncong (a traditional music of Jakarta)."
The ad drew criticism from a musician, who said that the statement is an insult to kroncong as it implies that kroncong is cheap. The advertiser argued that the company was trying to tell the audience that the price was affordable or "soft" like kroncong music. Goldstar agreed to remove the word kroncong and changed the statement to "the sound is metal and the price is good."
Children
Other commercials are regarded unethical because they exploit children. A commercial featuring a little boy expressing his opinion about a Toyota Kijang minivan was recently axed for being unethical.
"It is okay to expose children as members of the family, but it is inappropriate to exploit children's ignorance to advertise products," Indra Abidin, chairman of the honorary council of the Association of Indonesian Advertising Agencies, said.
The Institute for the Guidance and Protection of Consumers, which has severely blasted advertising agencies for exploiting children, earlier this year conducted a survey on the impact of TV commercials on Indonesian children.
The Semarang-based institute talked to 103 children of between 5 and 15 years old. The survey found that 49.5 percent of the respondents often asked their parents to buy the products they saw on TV, especially if the ad starred their favorite artist. The children only wanted the product because they adored the artists who were in the ads, not because the items advertised had any real use. The children were trapped in an irrational consumptive pattern.
"Children are lured into demanding things they don't need," Eri Saptoputratmo, public relations officer of the institute, told The Jakarta Post recently.
Thirty-four percent of the respondents said they often found the products didn't meet their expectations.
"In general, the commercials tend to give too much hope to consumers," Eri said.
Beauty cream ads are classic examples. One company claims that the product can "whiten" the skin, while another boasts that its anti-aging product can make the skin remain smooth.
Attitude
Making an excellent ad takes creativity, taste, maturity and knowledge.
"Advertisements are more than the combination of a picture and some words," Indra Abidin, said in an interview with the Post.
An advertisement is created to change people's attitude so they are attracted to a product, he added.
Creating an informative, communicative and educative ad is difficult. A knowledge of advertising ethics and societal values is essential, but there are other things which are equally important. Advertising practitioners need to know the psychology of the society and the demography, Abidin said.
Abidin observed that some advertising agencies produce misleading commercials because of negligence or because they lack basic knowledge. But others break the code of ethics in order to do things the easy way.
Advertising agencies make every effort to steal the consumer's heart through the commercials. That is not surprising because advertisements play a great role in generating the sales of the products, he said.
Swa magazine reported last month that the sales of a certain product of PT Jamu Jago traditional herb company increased by 500 percent in the first six months after the product was advertised on TV.
Indonesia's steady economic growth and the presence of five private TV stations has contributed a lot to the development of TV commercials and advertising in general. The spending on TV commercials in 1994 was Rp 1,062 billion, while in 1995 it is projected to reach Rp 1,503 billion, according to last month's Swa magazine.
The demand for creative copy writers and artists is rising. Unfortunately, the supply is limited in Indonesia so companies must hire foreigners. Foreign advertising companies of course make the best of the lack of talent and skill to expand their businesses.
Abidin observed that some foreign ad companies violate the code of ethics to rake in bigger profits more easily. They write their commercials based on their own taste without seriously considering local values.
"But of course there are some foreign advertising companies which are good," he added.
Fraudulence
Although a number of unethical and misleading TV commercials have been withdrawn following public protests, many others are still being aired. Consumers suffer because of such ads, but there isn't much they can do because of their weak legal position. Indonesian law does not protect consumers.
The production of misleading commercials can be categorized as fraud, yet no one has been tried for an advertisement.
Late in 1980s, a lawyer sued Bentoel cigarette producer for the use of the brand-name Bentoel Remaja (Youth of Bentoel) and for their commercial featuring smoking teenagers. The lawyer, R.O. Tambunan, said he filed the lawsuit on behalf of the public. The Central Jakarta District Court turned down the suit, insisting the lawyer didn't have any legal right to represent the public.
An appropriate legal instrument is essential to protect consumers. But more important is the ad companies willingness to comply to the rules and the government's determination to act against violators, said Abidin.
"One of the biggest problems that we have is the inconsistency in the implementation of the rules," Abidin pointed out.
He cited as an example that despite the government's ban on commercials made overseas, many foreign ads are in circulation.
The film censorship council and TV stations should be more careful. The council has the authority to screen both films and TV commercials, but sometimes the inappropriate TV ads had not been looked at. Indonesian TV stations, which generate huge sums of money from ads, should start taking their consumers into consideration.