Aegis Malaysia, a global business process outsourcing
company, was featured in an online video advertisement that discouraged foreign investors from
coming to our country, saying that Malaysia is a better investment site than
the Philippines.
The video ad entitled “Aegis:
Spearheading Malaysia’s ‘Developed Economy’ Drive,” listed several reasons
why one shouldn’t invest in the Philippines -- inadequate infrastructure,
unfriendly climate, less security, lack of government support, and the country’s
location being at the Pacific Ring of Fire. Later on, the opposite of these
reasons were attributed to Malaysia, suggesting that their country is the
better choice.
The 3-minute video was originally uploaded on YouTube and
went viral hours after it was released.
It incited anger from both Filipino and foreign netizens, saying that
the ad portrayed the country in a bad light and it was “very offensive” and
“unethical.” According to reports, the ad was deleted from the website after
gathering such negative feedbacks and only downloaded copies of it are now
available online.
The company, however, already issued a public apology
saying, "We regret the upload of the
recent video on Malaysia. The video was developed locally by an agency and uploaded
in error and the contents were NOT approved by Aegis Corporate." They
also added that they “apologize and
regret any communication that may have inadvertently hurt any sentiments.”
This video advertisement is a good example that illustrates
violations of the Ads Standards Council (ASC) Code of Ethics. The ad agency may
not be from the country and is not under the ASC but this affected the image of
the Philippines.
First, the ad violated Article I, Section 1 (Respect for
Country & the Law) by belittling the country just to promote their own. It contains
elements that are “injurious to the image and prestige of the Philippines and
its people,” including the “faults” of the government, law, and its
reinforcement.
It also violated Article IV, Section 1. a. (Disparagement) indicating
that “advertisements shall not directly or indirectly disparage, ridicule,
criticize or attack…” competitors. It is clear that the country was looked down
on as portrayed in the advertisement. Another violation is that of Section 1. g.
which says that “advertisements shall not make any presentation that brings
advertising into disrepute both as a profession and as a business activity.”
This ad received comments all over the social media as “the worst advertising
strategy” and some netizens also asked why advertising had come to this, stooping
to the level of bashing a competitor just for promotion.
The ad also violated Article IV Section 2 (Comparison
Advertising) for not providing enough bases for claims of superiority of
Malaysia over the Philippines in the aspects mentioned. Besides, there was
never really a need for comparing the two countries in the first place.
Malaysia can be promoted in other ways such as pointing out the good things the
country can offer and simply not looking much into the negative aspects of
another country for comparison.
The Philippines has its own flaws (any other country
actually has) and Malaysia may be of a better standing compared with the
Philippines, but that need not to be slapped right into the Filipinos’ faces.
What if investors saw this ad and cause them to really think twice of coming
into the country for business? What if other countries watch this video and
deem the country weak?
Filipino people are resilient. The country may have inadequate
infrastructure, unfriendly climate, less security, lack of government support,
and is located at the Pacific Ring of Fire, but all of these are taken as challenges.
Despite these, Filipinos continue to stand tall and the Philippines continues
to grow.
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(Editor's note: The moral agent in this case is the ad agency that produced and uploaded the video and not Aegis Malaysia. It was also clear in the blog article that Aegis Malaysia already issued a public apology and has categorically stated that the ad was not approved. Another ethical lapse that could be tackled is the breach of confidentiality of the producer/agency in uploading an unapproved communication materials.)
