Live from ANA: Ad Industry Facing Multiple Threats

The advertising and promotion industry is facing more legal challenges in more places than ever before in a time when advertising has become ever more controversial and advocacy groups and consumers alike are quick to speak up about perceived indiscretions.

A recent Gallup poll, for example, found that advertising ranked just above used car salesmen. In fact, only 10% of respondents rated the ethics of advertisers as “very high” or even “high”. Nurses topped the poll at 79%, while grade school teachers, pharmacists and military officers all rated above 70%.

“These are not good numbers,” said Daniel L. Jaffe, ANA executive VP.

Another poll, by Yankelovich, sampled the public to list the top five areas needing governmental regulation. Advertising ranked fourth on the list behind water pollution, toxic waste, air pollution and just above nuclear safety.

“This is a truly toxic list, literally and figuratively, to be on,” Jaffe said.

Jaffe was setting the stage to discuss the host of legal issues impacting advertising. The list includes, ad tax proposals in Congress or the state legislatures, efforts to “childproof” the flow of information, efforts to blame ads for societal problems-from obesity to promiscuity to violence-proposals to restrict the collection and use of consumer information and continued consumer pushback.

He said that a group called The Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children Coalition sent a letter to every Congressional office on Capitol Hill, stating as follows: “Marketing directly to children undermines all aspects of children’s healthy growth and development and contributed to public health problems like childhood obesity, eating disorders, precocious and irresponsible sexuality, underage drinking and smoking, youth violence, excessive materialism and family stress. Yet corporations continue to spend about $15 billion annually targeting children.”

“This is not such an a-typical statement,” Jaffe said. “There are many groups whose only purpose is attacking our industry.”

He said the industry continues the battle of “fact or fiction” by researching and refuting false claims made by such groups as well as developing its own research studies to support the industry.

In one example, The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report arguing that there had been an explosion of ads targeting children. It stated that “a typical child see about 40,000 ads a year on TV alone.”

“This figure of 40,000 advertisements has been repeated over and over and almost has achieved an unchallenged status,” Jaffe said. “Fortunately, or unfortunately, however, no one can determine where exactly this number originated.”

An ANA commissioned study, among a number of findings, found that children under 12 saw fewer ads related to food, restaurants and beverages, during the period from 1993 to 2003. It said that these ads declined 13% from the first four years to the last four years of the period.

Jaffe said that if ads contributed to the obesity rate, more uniform obesity rates would be expected. He cited research that said that the rate of violence has been going down steadily since 1994 and that youth violence is down as well as teenage birth rates and sexual activity among 9th to 12th grade girls.

“We need to work hard to make sure these facts are heard,” he said. “Young people clearly face more challenges and a far more complex society than most of us did when we were growing up. But it’s critical that we refute the false claims of those critics who blame advertising for a wide range of societal problems.”

In addition to advocacy groups, consumers have gained ever more power to block advertising they deem inappropriate and the government has stepped in to help them out with the enactment of the national Do-Not-Call registry, CAN-SPAM and other legislation.

“We are literally raising and training a generation of Americans to seek ways to block the commercial messages our companies want to deliver,” Jaffe said.

New tools have aided the fight. Last year a major new study, The Global Insight study, demonstrated the economic value of advertising in every state and congressional district in the country.

Hot buttons for 2005 also include prescription drug advertising, media content issues (think Janet Jackson) and privacy concerns. Jaffe said that the reelection of President George Bush would have limited impact on advertising since advertising issues do not break along party lines. The industry has friends and enemies in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

“ANA is working hard to protect your interests in all of these areas,” Jaffe said. “But we need your help. The multiple threats we face today can impact fundamentally, virtually all products and services and the ability of all marketers to communicate with consumers. If we don’t respond collectively to these threats, our ability to advertise effectively will be seriously jeopardized.”