Advertisers asked to self-regulate, avoid 'sensitive' ads

To avoid another public uproar over sexy images on billboards, advertisers were advised to self-regulate and be cautious about putting up "sensitive" advertising materials, a lawyer from the Ad Standards Council (ASC) said. In an interview on GMA News TV's "News To Go" on Monday, ASC lawyer Rejie Jularbal urged advertisers to exercise self-restraint to avoid drawing the ire of the public when putting up billboards. Recently, an underwear ad featuring the Philippine rugby team (more popularly known as the Philippine Volcanoes), was torn down. "Mayroong social responsibility ang advertising," he said. "Mas mabuti pa na bago magkaroon ng stricter regulations (at) legislations, may self-regulation that should also be stricter." Jularbal said advertisements undergo a process of pre-screening and pre-approval before these are displayed.
Ads frowned upon The ASC disapproves of ads that focus on a man's crotch or that prominently displays a "bulge" in a man's genital area. ASC also disapproves of ads that have images of models in suggestive poses such as a model sitting with her legs spread wide. He explained that the ASC's standard of what is sensitive or not relies not on what the model in an ad is wearing. He said even billboards with fully-clothed models can be disapproved if they have sexual overtones, while underwear ads are approved if the presentation of the body is angled well. Complaints about billboards Last week, three billboards of underwear ads featuring members of the Philippine Volcanoes posted along EDSA were torn down, reportedly after a request from Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos. In an earlier report on GMA News TV, Abalos said he is a "very liberal person" but he had to take action because he received complaints about the billboards.

The controversial billboards before they were taken down last Thursday. Benchtm.com

Jularbal clarified that the billboards were taken down voluntarily by the organizer. "Hindi coercive 'yung prosesong 'yun. Nung pinaalam sa kanila na may reaksyon ng publiko at ni-request kung pwedeng ibaba nila, binaba nila nang kusa 'yan," he said. Jularbal said he ASC has a checklist that guides a panel that approves or disapproves advertisements. However, he admitted that the screening can be "very subjective" as different people have different standards of decency. "Kagaya nyang (billboard ng Philippine Volcanoes), pumasa sa amin pero sa ibang tao hindi papasa," he said. "The appreciation of what is moral or what is obscene is a continuing shift. Ang Ad Standards Council ay nag-a-adjust naman dyan." He added that the ASC is now completing a review of their standards to see if it is necessary for them to shift certain policies or internal processes. Jularbal also said the ASC will be stricter when it comes to implementing these standards. Reactions on social media Meanwhile, social media has been abuzz with reactions to the dismantling of the underwear ads, with some people saying that others over-reacted to the underwear billboards. "Dark ages pa ba sa Pilipinas? Hindi naman malaswa 'yung mga Volcanoes billboards. Marami lang dyan ang nagsasanto-santuhan," said Twitter user @isahvred. "Bakit malaking issue ang billboards ng Volcanoes? Eh underwear billboards (nina) Dingdong Dantes, Jake Cuenca hindi naman," Twitter user @azehc said. "Philippine Volcanoes' billboards now gone. Pero sa tabi nito, may ad ng babaeng naka-bra. Naka-brief lang ang bawal, ganon?" said Twitter user @aimee_rae. On Saturday, members of the Philippine Volcanoes voiced their reactions to the tearing down of their billboard ad. Volcanoes member Arnold Aninion said on his Twitter account that he was "surprised" that the billboards were pulled down. Volcanoes member Ned Stephenson, who was featured in one of the underwear ads, said he saw nothing wrong with the ad campaign. "I don't think it's that bad to be honest. There's more 'mahalay' billboards (sic)," Stephenson said. Meanwhile, Valenzuela Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, who reportedly told Abalos about his disapproval of the ads, expressed relief that the billboards were taken down. "Hay Salamat! The 'men in briefs' billboards along EDSA are GONE. Thank you very much Mayor Abalos. Our kids can pass EDSA safely now," he said on his Twitter account. - VVP, GMA News