Earlier this year a spat between leaders of the advertising industry and Helen Goodman MP, Shadow Minister for Culture prompted me to look carefully what is being debated. It has become clear that this is another example of a great divide as to the extent to which markets should be left to look after themselves. The belief that to all intents and purposes they (Business) perform better and more effectively when left to the operation of the market has surely been shattered post financial crisis 2008. However that cannot mean the abandonment of markets as history has shown, markets deliver growth and prosperity. As that very left-wing Angela Merkel has said - markets should serve people not be their masters. Such a position (mainstream European Christian Democracy) means that the interface between market operations and society is one of the major concerns of politics and government - hence a completely free hand in business is neither possible nor desirable.
Turning to the particular. What Helen Goodman was saying is in relation to gambling advertising specifically leading to "excessive marketing practices".
Sir Martin Sorrel of WPP interprets this as an attack on the advertising business in total. Now it is accepted that the days of restrained, informative advertising are long gone and now it appears to me that anything goes. A few examples - the furniture retailers who are always having a sale and quoting higher post sale prices that never seem to appear; the supermarkets who now admit to making "joke offers", what was £3.79 last week is now on offer at £5.19. One should wonder what part marketing and advertising played in PPI mis-selling.
I am not advocating legislation to deal with the claimed excessive marketing practices but I have no doubt they have, and continue to, exist. I remain anxious about statutory regulation of the Press but did they not (through their excesses) bring it upon themselves! So Martin Sorrel is wrong to suggest that this is an attack on the business itself. It is an attack on excesses with the clear implication that if companies do not do more in relation to social responsibility than have a budget for it, managed by a middle ranking executive, then intervention will be necessary. Trying to finesse the argument into one of interfering government versus thriving business won't wash. Parts of advertising and marketing need to clean up their act else the political pressure will become irresistible.
Resources used:
Sunday Telegraph 16th February 2014, Martin Sorrel.
campaignlive.co.uk, Danny Rogers, 31st January 2014
