AAG pushes for passage of Advertising Bill

The Executive Director of the Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG), Mr Francis Dadzie, has said that practitioners in the advertising industry will be licensed when the Advertising Council Bill (ACB) is passed into law.

The bill is currently before parliament for consideration.

Speaking at a seminar on the theme: “Career Opportunities in Advertising”, on Tuesday 16, at the University of Professional Studies in Accra (UPSA),

Mr Dadzie stated that the bill, when passed into law would guard consumers against making wrong decisions based on the adverts they consumed.

“For the past six years, we have pushed for the Advertising Council Bill to license a practitioner.

The bill will protect consumers from making wrong decisions and train professionals in the advertising field,” he said.

The seminar, as part of the Advertising Week celebration, brought together the vice president of the International Advertising Association (IAA), members of the AAG and students from the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and the Radford University.

Advertising school

Mr Francis Dadzie said by next year, the AAG was hoping to set up a specialised advertising institution to ensure professionalism in the advertising industry.

“In 2019, we will put up a fully-fledged advertising school to train practitioners on correct advertising practices,” he said.

Mr Dadzie further urged lecturers to teach their students ethics pertaining to the advertising industry.
 
Advertising is the future

A creative director at Insel Communications and a panellist at the seminar, Mr Russell Eni, for his part, highlighted the future prospects of advertising.

He said, “the future is not there; the future is just here. Apps are replacing doctors and the people behind the apps and advertising are people like you who the future influences, the people who will design the language of brands and push it to people.”

He further noted that though technology facilitated work, personnel such as graphic designers, copy writers, web developers, among others, were still needed in the advertising industry to promote brands and enhance consumer experience.