AdBoard postpones Ad Congress

MANILA, Philippines - The Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) is postponing the 23rd Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC) originally set for November 2013.

In its almost 40 years of existence, this is the first time the AdBoard will not hold the biggest assembly of practitioners in the advertising /marketing communications industry. All systems were a go for Davao City, which would have been the perfect venue for the event, but issues that have yet to define the future of the industry finally compelled the board, with much regret, to decide against pushing through with the 23rd PAC.

“We tried our best to organize the ad congress, but without the support of all member-associations, we feel we cannot mount a successful ad congress,” said 2013 AdBoard chairman Bienvenido Niles Jr.

Three out of the 10 members-associations of the AdBoad filed a leave of absence late last year and early this year: Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) in November 2012, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies Philippines (4AsP), in February 2013, and the  Advertising Suppliers Association of the Philippines (ASAP), in May 2013.

According to Niles, “it is impractical for the AdBoard to proceed given the internal situation it currently addresses. Instead, AdBoard will focus on getting the entire membership to work together again towards restoring its mandate.”

The appointed 23rd PAC co-chairmen RJ Esteban and Egay Navalta, and the rest of the executive committee, have formally tendered their disengagement with the 23rd PAC in light of this crisis.

In an effort to rally the member-associations and save the Ad Congress, the AdBoard sought the help of its allied partners in searching for the best candidate for the ad congress chairmanship. A series of meetings were held, but to no avail.

The AdBoard continues to uphold the principle of self-regulation in the industry. It has outlined relevant activities for its member-associations. As the AdBoard prepares for its 40-year anniversary in 2014, and being the umbrella organization of the marketing communications industry, it remains firm in its mandate to protect the industry while safeguarding the interest of the consumers.