NAVIGATING THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN NIGERIA AS A CONSUMER’S SHIELD

Abstract

One of the key aspects of any business is creating awareness about its product or service to its target audience and advertising as a form of communication, has been widely employed by businesses to communicate their product’s existence and its offerings. With the increasing blur between traditional and digital media advertising, changing market and evolving consumer behaviours and needs, the drive to regulate the advertising space in Nigeria could be attributed to several factors including, the need to curb the display of unvetted advertisements which are often misleading, harmful or offensive; protect consumer’s welfare; and overall, develop a robust regulatory framework for advertising and advertising business in Nigeria. Findings show that the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act 2022, which is the apex law regulating the practice and business of advertising in Nigeria aims to establish these possibilities. However, some of the provisions of the ARCON Act such as, the requirement to vet all advertisements on both traditional and digital platforms before publication, the imposition of penalties on defaulters, as well as the alleged unconstitutionality of some of the provisions of the ARCON Act has been the subject of neck-breaking criticism by industry players. This paper which is doctrinal, concludes that the ARCON Act, 2022 represents a significant shift in the Nigeria advertising landscape. The ARCON Act strikes a balance between prioritizing consumer’s welfare and fostering a thriving advertising industry in Nigeria. However, it is recommended amongst others, that ARCON should invest in digital technologies that will aid and/or ensure proactive monitoring of all offline and online platforms for non-compliant advertisements in real-time. ARCON should also employ technology for faster vetting of submitted advertisement materials and monitoring to keep pace with digital advertising as this will reduce delays in approval of applications for publications and encourage innovation and creativity.