As economic recession bites harder leading to a likelihood of declining purchasing power for consumers, The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (APCON) has given a commitment to protect their interest against deceitful campaign that could influence their spending decisions. The assurance was issued by the registrar of the council, Alhaji Bello Kankarofi while affirming the determination of the regulatory body to instill sanity in the advertising landscape in 2017.
Kankarofi who noted this at a recent function in Lagos said the council, having realized that consumption drives the economy, would be leaving no stone unturned in protecting the right of consumers by ensuring that advertisers do not exploit them through deceitful campaign that are likely to influence their buying decisions
While admitting the crucial role of advertisement on consumer’s choice, he noted that the council has a strong mandate to ensure all advertisement are in conformity with realities that would assist them in evaluating best options for purchasing.
While assuring the public of sanctions in the event of noncompliance by advertisers especially as it relates to essential areas like; children’s advertising and food, drug and health, he maintained that it was committed to ensure its codes are not abused.
“Nigeria vast market requires an equally vast regulatory structure that governs the manufacture, distribution, and sale of consumer products. Most of the time, advertising enhances market performance by providing useful information to consumers and by enabling firms to promote the attributes of their products and services and, thereby, to compete better with each other. On the other hand, advertising may adversely affect market performance when businesses use it to transmit deceptive or fraudulent messages on which reasonable consumers are induced to rely to their detriment. When this happens, we tend to refer to the result as “market failure,” he said.
Kankarofi assured the advertising community that the council will do everything within its powers to stop any act that is likely going to give space to untrue advertisements which in effect could have negative influence on consumers adding that the role of gadvertisements and its effectiveness on consumer’s right of choice are from the undeniable realities.
While applauding registered advertising practitioners in Nigeria for their support in the outgone year, Kankarofi said the council will still continue to play its statutory role by ensuring that it vets all advertisements exposed in all media, whether it is radio, television, newspaper, outdoor and flyers.
Speaking on the size of the industry, he put the number of the registered practitioners in Nigeria to be in excess of four thousand while corporate firms licensed by the Council so far are said to be over 250.
The APCON CEO, however pointed out that these figures fluctuate as new practitioners are registered – almost every quarter and as some hitherto registered ones drop out by virtue of their failure to live up to their practice obligations.
