South Africa has an effective and functioning advertising self-regulator. However, it doesn’t always work as it should. The self-regulatory regime in place cannot do enough to protect consumers because it is based on the willing cooperation of advertisers.
The divide between editorial and commercial, church and state in publishing traditions, is now a millstone for the industry.
That old-school separation used to mitigate in favour of strong, independent journalism. However, these days no publishing business can afford to ignore the realities of commercial content. The blurry line between advertising and editorial has never been more blurry. Commercial partnerships are the name of the media game.
It’s sometimes a challenge for journalists and editors to understand this new reality.
Do you ever get the sense that advertisements you see online know more about you than you might expect? Have you ever wondered why you’re being shown an ad for a product, only to realize later that you might actually be the kind of person who would want to buy it?
If so, it’s likely that the ads appearing on your screen have been behaviorally targeted.
Another year, another crisis in traditional media. Most recently, it has been The Guardian announcing it needs to cut costs by 20%, as the revenues from online advertising cannot compensate for the losses of revenue from its print editions.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris has lost a major international legal battle to reverse Australia’s plain packaging laws by using the Australia–Hong Kong Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) of 1993. On 17 December 2015, a three-member arbitral tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Philip Morris had no jurisdiction to bring the case against Australia. This means that Australia’s plain packaging laws, which ban all branding from cigarette packets, will remain in force.
The favourites New Zealand chalked up their second successive Rugby World Cup victory in a competition dominated by the southern hemisphere teams. However, who were the winners among the global corporations seeking to stand out in the marketing scrum? The tournament sought to keep its doors closed to the kind of unofficial marketing that leaves official sponsors furious, but an American rapper may have rattled their cages.
Despite the weak global economic climate and decline in consumer spending, global ad spending rose to more than $500 billion in 2012, with most of that increase coming from digital media advertising. But do advertisements actually generate greater brand awareness and translate to greater sales?
Do consumers simply believe and accept advertising, or do they take it with a grain of salt? And, more importantly, do they care? For example, when you go to McDonald’s for a Big Mac, do you expect the advertised masterpiece or a flattened down version of it?
Joining the fight against obesity, Walt Disney media group has declared that it will begin imposing strict new standards for food and beverage advertising on its networks –one of the first major media company to do so.
Hailing the move, First Lady Michelle Obama, a prominent advocate against childhood obesity, praised the “game changer” initiative. Speaking at Disney’s press conference, she added:
