ARCON: Advertising industry reforms yielding positive results, not decline – Fadolapo

2026-02-24 - 17:46

...Cites PwC-Backed research, job creation, debt resolution as evidence of growth ...Challenges ADVAN to counter the data By Tunde Oso Far from the picture of regulatory overreach and investor flight painted in ADVAN’s open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently, Nigeria’s advertising industry has been growing, and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has the independent research to prove it. In a detailed press statement issued recently, ARCON’s Director-General, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, pushed back against the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN)’s claim that its reforms have triggered a decline in advertising spend and caused companies to exit the Nigerian market. The regulator said the data tells an entirely different story from the claim of the body, adding that industry expansion, debt resolution, job creation, and improved contributions to Nigeria’s GDP all prove the claims to be false. Central to ARCON’s counter narrative is an independent research project it commissioned in collaboration with the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG). The regulator engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world’s most recognised global professional services firms to conduct a comprehensive study of advertising industry spend and its contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. The report, presented to industry stakeholders and published in the media, reflects an industry in growth mode. ARCON noted that PwC, as a globally credible institution with a verifiable reputation for integrity, can be contacted independently to confirm the findings. “Rather than decline as alleged, the industry has witnessed growth and new investments,” the statement declared. ARCON threw down a direct challenge to ADVAN to publish a verified counter-report, or stop making unsupported claims to the Presidency and the Nigerian public. ARCON, a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, outlined what it described as three transformative outcomes of its ongoing reform agenda, each of which it says directly benefits the Nigerian economy and its people. First, the directive requiring that all advertisements targeting the Nigerian market use Nigerian talent and be produced locally has redirected advertising revenue that was previously flowing overseas back into the Nigerian economy. Prior to the policy, a review by ARCON had revealed that many advertisers were using foreign models, foreign voice-over artists, and producing content entirely outside the country, depriving Nigerian creatives, models, production companies, and technical crew of income that was rightfully theirs. “ARCON has championed the use of Nigerians in all advertising and marketing communications targeting the Nigerian market,” the statement said. “ARCON has promoted the use of Nigerian companies in advertisement production and, by extension, created jobs for Nigerians.” Second, the enforcement of a 45-day payment cycle, a standard adopted from global industry best practices and recommended by the Advertising Industry Standards of Practice (AISoP) Committee, has helped address what ARCON described as one of the Nigerian advertising industry’s most chronic and well-documented problems: media debt. Lastly, the disengagement protocol which requires advertisers to settle outstanding financial obligations with their agencies before moving accounts has curbed unethical practices that had long plagued the industry and contributed to the debt spiral. ARCON said this measure has “built a stronger industry with improved contributions to GDP.” ADVAN’s open letter to the President alleged that ARCON’s reforms had not only dampened advertising investment but had driven companies to exit Nigeria entirely. ARCON treated this claim with unmistakable scepticism and challenged ADVAN to name names. “ADVAN is challenged to provide verified data on the alleged decline in advertising spend, as well as publish the names of organisations that have exited Nigeria because of the industry reforms,” the statement read. The regulator questioned the very logic of the allegation. Why would a responsible organisation leave a country simply because it was asked to cast Nigerians in advertisements? Why would one exit the market because it was required to pay its media obligations on time? ARCON argued that these questions answer themselves, and that the absence of any named companies or verified data in ADVAN’s letter speaks to the weakness of the claim. ARCON also highlighted the role of the Advertising Offences Tribunal (AOT) as one of the reform mechanisms that has contributed to a healthier, more ethical industry environment. Despite being the subject of sustained attacks by the ADVAN President through media interviews, the Tribunal has recently had its constitutionality and legality validated by recent court judgments. ARCON noted that the advertising industry is not exceptional in having a sector-specific tribunal. Similar bodies exist across the Nigerian economy, including the Investment and Securities Tribunal, the Tax Tribunal, and the Consumer Protection and Competition Tribunal. The Advertising Offences Tribunal, ARCON said, “has been one of the mechanisms that has helped in sanitising the advertising industry, as well as improving ethical conduct and compliance.” In ARCON’s closing message to ADVAN, and to the broader public, was that the reforms are working, the industry is better for them, and there is no going back. “For the record, ARCON has championed the use of Nigerians in all advertising and marketing communications targeting the Nigerian market,” the statement read. “ARCON has largely resolved industry media debts and issues involving media owners and service providers, thereby building a stronger industry with improved contributions to GDP.” The regulator was equally clear that its work is aligned with the highest levels of government policy. The reforms were initiated under the directive of the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, who charged all agencies under the Ministry to adopt the Nigerian First Policy and pursue inclusive growth from the outset of the Tinubu administration. ARCON said it intends to remain on that course, regardless of opposition. “ARCON will remain focused and resolute in promoting the Nigerian First Policy and aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration,” Dr. Fadolapo concluded.