Creativity In Philippine Advertising During The Martial Law Years

During the martial law years in the Philippines, one peculiar aspect of this period is the presence of free enterprise. “Free” being used loosely in this context. People were allowed to foster and grow a business. Some may say that as long as it is under the radar from cronies and the ruling government, the business is relatively safe. Unlike present dictatorships, such as North Korea and Iran, where images of impoverished citizens completely smothered by government are top of mind, the Philippines had a certain duality in its application and definition of a dictatorial government. Freedom of speech was oppressed yet, in a certain way, freedom of expression was allowed.

Some of the best movies made were during the Martial Law era. As a popular saying goes, oppression breeds creativity. Stories and themes were layered enough that the political commentary, if there was one, was not obvious enough to capture attention.

During the time, television, movies, radio and print media were censored. In fact, the first order of President Marcos when Martial Law was declared was the "take over and control of all privately owned newspapers, magazines, radio and television facilities and all other media communications." With the channels for advertising under government control, did it affect the advertising industry the way it conducted its business? This is in the context on how commercials and print ads are made.

According to Norman Agatep, Managing Director of Euro RSCG Philippines - 4As, government “instructed the private sector to clean its act up” which led to the founding of the Advertising Board of the Philippines (Adboard) in 1974. Its purpose is to self regulate the industry to ensure that government won’t stifle its growth and disrupt the business. The Adboard provided a stronger voice to work for the benefit of the entire industry and to stabilize the relationship between advertisers and the media. At that time, there was not much cooperation among the pillars of the industry.

A bulk of the income of media comes from advertising. But in the time of Martial Law they still have a line to toe. Obviously, there are certain themes and subjects that are hands off when it comes to media. Some of these are the criticism of government, putting the country in bad light, highlighting the oppressive nature of government, etc. But aside from the founding of Adboard, how much did martial law affect the advertising industry?