Advertising Regulations In Singapore
by Dr. Ang Peng Hwa
Presented 18 January 2000
Introduction
1997 Report from the Vatican
(Reuter)- The Vatican Tuesday urged advertisers to stop pandering to lust, envy and greed and show more morality in their work.
A 30-page report on ``Ethics in Advertising'' prepared by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications said advertisers had a moral duty to be truthful and to serve the common good.
Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore
Members Comprise Representatives from:
How It Is Funded
Scope of Code
All advertisements of any goods and services in any form on any media
Advertisements are "any form of commercial communication for any form of goods or services, regardless of medium used, including advertising claims on packs, labels and point of sale material.
Principles
Abide by core Singapore values
Abide by Singapore's family values:
Fair competition in business including:
Principles of Advertising Regulation
General principle:
Specific guidelines on use of:
In practice, look up the specific principles, then the general.
Powers of ASAS
Other Means of Correction?
Eg publish corrective statement?
What to Do If Your Ad Has Been Complained About
Problem Areas In Advertising
Trends
FAQ
Question: How do you cite SCAP?
Answer: Cite the Appendix and the clause if applicable. If not, cite the clause in the general section. Your citations should be such that a reader armed with the information you provide would be able to locate the reference. Example: Appendix A clause 1.1
Question: SCAP says that advertisers must be identified. Yet I see ads in which advertisers are not identified. Why?
Answer: Yes, the identity of the advertiser is supposed to be stated. This is targeted at itinerant advertisers--these people may advertise a sale in a hotel room. You buy the product and then next morning they are gone. Literally a fly-by-night business. What recourse do you have? So these advertisers must have a permanent address.
On the other hand, forcing everyone to put an address means no branding ads--those touchy-feely ads that may not even show the product or service.
Well, as far as I can tell, I do not see how you can draft a clause that is targeted only at itinerant advertisers. This is one of those difficulties in legal drafting--to write in such a way as to target certain groups and not others without tying yourself up in legal-drafting knots.
Question: Ads for slimming. If an advertiser can't say that any creams can like firm the bust or reduce the waistline, or that tummi trim formula can flatten the tummy, it seems to me like saying that such products shouldn't even be made.
Answer: Yes, you're right. Some things should not be made. Or sold. Or advertised. But who's to say what these should be?
I would not lose sleep over "commercial speech". There are even more robust regulations in the US--where you can go to jail for fraudulent advertising (when was the last time it happened to an advertiser here)--on the rationale that commercial speech is "hardy". As they say in Hokkien--pah bway see--even if you beat it, it does not die. Hardy. Like weeds. They will find a way, usually creative, to accommodate.
Question: I received e-mail from a respected international company saying that if I fill in survey I can get a prize in a lucky draw. Can ASAS/SBA regulate this kind of ad?
Answer: It's against the law in the first case if the draw is not held or if the draw was not licensed. Second, because it is misleading, it violates SCAP. But as it is email, it does not fall within the self-defined ambit of the SBA.