Feature: Sticks and stones…..but damaging our reputation really hurts!

As Andrew Brown stood down as Director General of The Advertising Association he proclaimed that the advertising industry was under siege. His successor, Baroness Buscombe, has picked the mantle and whilst not disagreeing with the sentiment, believes that the industry must now work hard to present itself in a positive light and go on the offensive.

I have talked about the Ofcom madness in restricting TV advertising of various foods (a fundamental cause of obesity in children – yeah right!) and since then there has been the whole debacle over premium phone lines. This is the further drip, drip of acid rain, that has been going on for at least the last decade (since the banning of cigarette advertising - a soft target), that both erodes our self regulatory system and corrodes the reputation of our industry.

However it is not only our reputation that takes a hit when the lobbyists try to project marketing as the devil incarnate; it is the reputation of the brands which are in the firing line that have to go into damage limitation mode. The Brand Health Checks that we feature show the traps that brand owners have to face – and this months report on Blue Peter is a good example.

So surely it is time that we all work together to promote the very positive aspects of the marketing industry and be proud of our work and the self regulatory system in which we operate. Some might say that this system has ‘no teeth’ but certainly the name and shaming measures that it takes when practitioners step out of line does have the desired effect. Brand owners know that it can damage their reputation and therefore the price to pay can be limitless.