MEDIA & MARKETING: Leading advertisers are looking to head off tighter regulation from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) by offering to vet children's advertising campaigns, it has emerged.
Advertisers would back a plan to conduct checks on campaigns targeted at children provided funding for such an initiative could be agreed, Mr Michael Caraher, chief executive of the Association of Advertisers in Ireland (AAI), has said.
The AAI and the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) already have such copy approval procedures in place for alcohol campaigns.
This follows warnings from the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, that new laws could be enacted on alcohol advertising that advertisers set up the central copy clearance system for alcohol campaigns.
As advertisers await the publication of the BCI code on children's advertising - not now expected until September - the AAI has again called for a moratorium.
Mr Caraher said it was crucial that advertisers had up to six months to change existing campaigns or develop new advertisements that comply with the code.
Advertisers are also concerned that consumers may be confused by the number of agencies overseeing the area.
"There may be confusion in consumers' minds as to where they should complain about campaigns," Mr Caraher said. "That is something advertisers and their agencies would be anxious to avoid."
On reports that Irish broadcasters may lose as much as €20 million in revenue if the BCI goes ahead with the proposed curbs, Mr Caraher said the impact on budgets was hard to gauge.
However, Mr Tom McGowan, marketing director at Lever Fabergé Ireland and president of the AAI, warned that multinationals like Unilever would react to the code by shifting spending to overseas broadcasters like Sky, Nickelodeon and MTV, which fall outside the remit of Irish regulators.
RTÉ earns between €8 million and €10 million a year from advertising screened during children's hours. "Any loss in revenue by RTÉ in the current climate," Mr Caraher said, "must ultimately impact on the quality of home produced programming.
"A strict code will also affect Irish marketing people producing advertisements here. They will have to ask themselves the question 'do we produce one version for the Republic and another for the North?' "
Commenting on a report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children which called for a ban on all major sports sponsorships by drinks companies, Mr Caraher said the proposal would have a major impact on sporting events and clubs around the country.
The AAI hoped the Government would heed Mr Martin's call for a tightening of advertising controls, as opposed to an all-out ban.
The Oireachtas committee has called for the use of brand logos to be dropped on labels for sponsored events, clubs or teams that cater for members under 25 years of age.
The committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Batt O'Keeffe, referred to a European Commission report which claimed that countries with the lowest numbers of young people drinking tended to have tighter controls on advertising, while those with the highest prevalence of young people drinking tended to have less restrictions.
Vizeum wins pitch
Vizeum Ireland, a new agency formed as a result of the takeover of local independent Lucid Communications, has won the pitch for Pernod Ricard's €4 million Irish Distillers media account.
Advertising agency Carat was prevented from pitching for the account as it handles planning projects for Diageo.
McConnells' MCM Communications and Grey MediaCom also pitched. Limetree, the agency run by Ann Corcoran, has been added to Irish Distillers' creative roster.
Top name at Sharks
One of the most celebrated names in world advertising, Andy Berlin, will be on the judging panel for the 42nd annual Sharks international broadcast festival, which this year relocates from Kinsale to Galway's Radisson SAS hotel.
Mr Berlin, who chairs WPP's Red Cell network and is creative director of Berlin Cameron/Red Cell in New York, is known for his frankness. He recently voiced criticism of the Sony PlayStation 2 "Mountain" epic, saying the brand deserves better.
No stranger to Ireland, Mr Berlin last sat in on the awards' judging in 1991. He will be joined in Galway by Mr John McCabe of Saatchi & Saatchi New York and Mr Russell Ramsay of Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
The Sharks festival runs from September 9th-11th.
Tall publicity ahoy
Organisers of the 2005 Tall Ships Race are running 96-sheet posters on the main routes to Waterford in a bid to attract sponsors and raise public awareness.
The posters at Carroll's Cross, Grannagh, Ferrybank and the ferry terminal at Rosslare Harbour will be in place until October. Created by Dublin agency Neworldesign, they were erected for Waterford-based Stratus Marketing by Viacom Outdoor.
Mr Nicky Fewer, chairman of the Tall Ships Race 2005, said they aimed to raise around €750,000 in sponsorship. The event, over four days next July, is predicted to cost €2 million. The other host ports are Cherbourg-Octeville in France, Newcastle-Gateshead in England and Fredrikstad in Norway.
TV3 keeps it keen
TV3 is showing the strongest performance in terms of television share of viewing, consolidating its number two position with a 10 per cent increase, a report by McConnells' media unit, MCM Communications, indicates.
Sky continues to lose viewers, largely driven by Sky News, which no longer has the Iraq war to boost ratings.
Michael Cullen is editor of Marketing magazine.
Emmet Oliver is on leave.
