Brandy maker wants ‘kinse’ ads to stay

The controversy over Napoleon Brandy’s "kinse anyos" ads is far from over.

This after Distileria Limtuaco, the company that produces the brandy, apparently wants the billboards carrying the offensive advertisement to stay.

Earlier, militant women’s group Gabriela demanded that Distileria Limtuaco, through its advertising agency Sinson Lascano Group, dismantle all the billboards carrying the "kinse anyos" theme removed by yesterday to coincide the commemoration of the International Women’s Day.

However, as of yesterday, Gabriela noticed that billboards posing the question, the "Nakatikim ka na ba ng kinse anyos?," including the one located at the Distileria Limtuaco office along EDSA, were still there. Apart from EDSA, there are also billboards containing ads along Roxas Boulevard and Kamuning street in Quezon City.

"They (Distileria Limtuaco and the Sinson Lascano Group) were already admonished. This is an act of insensitivity and machismo just to sell a product. And we are speaking of children here. It is clear to everybody who sees the billboards that they want to be naughty, but in doing so, they also getting the ire of women’s groups, said Malou Turalde Jarabe, Gabriela deputy secretary general in phone interview.

It would be recalled that the billboard ads as well as the radio commercials of the brandy got the ire not only of Gabriela but also of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women; the Movie, Television Review and Classification Board chair Consoliza Laguardia; and of the Archdiocese of Manila.

As a result, Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) executive director Oscar Valenzuela wrote Ed Jimenez, senior account executive of the Sinson Lascano Group.

In that letter dated March 3, Valenzuela informed Jimenez that the AdBoard’s policy making body has unanimously decided to recall the clearance to air of the brandys radio advertisement material. Valenzuela, in that same letter, also requested that the billboard materials containing the alleged offensive statement be immediately removed.

No police power

But in a phone interview yesterday, Rene Besido, Distileria Limtuaco marketing manager, said the Ad Board exercises no police power and has no authority to compel them to remove the billboards.

"I dont think the AdBoard can compel us to do so," he said.

Besido refused to comment if there will are plans to remove the billboards anytime soon, saying that the company will be presenting its side in a press conference today.

For his part, Valenzuela admitted that the AdBoard indeed has no police power over its members as they are exercising a self-regulation policy.

He added that the best they can do is persuade Distileria Limtuaco to remove the billboards.

Valenzuela also said that Jimenez spoke to him yesterday asking him to reconsider the AdBoards order to pull out the brandy advertisements.

"He (Jimenez) said the order was arbitrary. It may be arbitrary, but they have to consider the common good. Right now they seem to be taking the hardline stand, bahala sila," Valenzuela said.

He said it would be better to rephrase the billboard advertisements that are found to be offensive with one which is acceptable to Gabriela and the other complaining groups.

"This is not hard to do. All they have to do is rephrase the statement," Valenzuela said.

Gabriela announced yesterday they will be leading a boycott of the Napoleon’s 15-year-old brandy in response to the apparent inaction of the Distileria Limtuaco on their complaint.

"We are not drinkers of Napoleon, but we will be asking people not to buy this gender-insensitve product," Jarabe said.