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CONSUMERS ALERTS AND FACTSHEETS

REGULATION

What do we regulate? : Advertising

All advertisements for products listed as Controlled Products must receive the pre-exposure vetting and approval of the Advertising Standards Panel. Those listed as General Goods/Services may be presented for vetting, but care must be exercised to make their advertisements conform with the provisions of the Code of Advertising Practice and the laws.

CONTROLLED PRODUCTS
(Mandatory for vetting)

  1. Foods/Consumables
  2. Personal Hygiene products
  3. Drinks
  4. Medicines - OTC's and consumer preparation
  5. Multivitamins & Minerals
  6. Advertising directed at children
  7. Tobacco products
  8. Alcoholic beverages
  9. Home video promos
  10. Financial services
    • banks
    • Insurance
    • discount houses
    • finance houses
  11. Religious revivals/convention
  12. Political advertising
  13. Trado-medicine (Practice & preparations offerings)
  14. Telecommunications (goods/service)
  15. Others - Consumer sales promotions all categories.

GENERAL GOODS & SERVICES
(Not mandatory for vetting, but the ads would be monitored and any offensive ones censured)

  1. Corporate ads of a general nature
  2. Medical equipment
  3. Automobiles
  4. Electronics and electrical equipment
  5. Notices
  6. Financial statements
  7. Congratulatory messages
  8. In memoriam/Obituaries
  9. Station promos (Radio/TV)
  10. Household items
  11. Property
  12. Oil and energy

How do we Regulate?
The Advertisements are regulated by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) a statutory standing committee of APCON, it is charged with the duties of vetting, approval and monitoring of advertisements in order to ensure that advertisements conform with the prevailing laws of Nigeria. It is made up of 22 members drawn from diverse groups namely: The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigerian Communications Commission, Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeriato mention a few.

The panel also has the responsibilities of enforcing the Code of Advertising Practice by making sure that only advertisements that are prepared with a high sense of social responsibility and did not show disregard for the interest of consumers and wider society, are legal, honest, truthful and respectful of Nigeria's culture and faire competition are approved for exposure.

Monitoring
The Advertising Standards Panel monitors all advertisements both those under regulated products and those under general goods and services as listed earlier. APCON has a monitoring unit within the secretariat and uses the services of a media monitoring agency. In addition, through the Ad-Check members of the public and the industry, provide back-up monitoring service to ensure that advertising agencies, manufacturers and media organizations conform to the vetting guidelines and other laws of Nigeria as well as code of standards practice.

Enforcement
There are three (3) statutory standing committees of APCON charged with enforcement. They are:

  • The Advertising Practitioners Investigating Panel (APIP)
  • The Advertising Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (APDC)
  • The Advertising Standards Panel (ASP)
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