Is the Interactive Advertising Bureau, known as the IAB, out of line for characterizing D.C. politicians as “extremists” who could destroy the U.S. advertising industry?
That’s the message coming from both the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the 4A’s ad industry advocacy groups, which have taken the unprecedented move of slamming the IAB for “the acerbic tone, texture and prescriptions” it offered at their recent ALM conference.
In a scathing statement released by the two groups in a united front against the IAB, the 4A’s and ANA shared Tuesday (1/31) that “[i]n an era of inflamed political tensions and growing division, the art of nuance and listening is quickly jettisoned for the short-term sugar highs of polarizing political rhetoric. And while polarizing political rhetoric might produce short-term results, it does nothing to achieve the kind of balanced, lasting consensus needed to effectuate real solutions. It is with that as a fundamental premise that the 4A’s and ANA reject the acerbic tone, texture and prescriptions offered by the IAB at their recent ALM conference. Our industry was built on a foundation of responsible marketing. While we, as an industry, may not always get it right, we do know when we must lead to restore balance – especially when we have created the conditions for our industry to be ‘out of balance.’”
What prompted the unprecedented joint statement were comments made last week in Orlando by IAB CEO David Cohen in its annual leadership meeting keynote address. In short, Cohen asserted that radicals on both sides of the political spectrum, helped by “Big Tech” including Apple, seek online ads in a significant way.
Citing such examples of leadership as the Media Ratings Council (MRC), and the 14-year-old Digital Advertising Alliance, the 4A’s and the ANA said the common denominators in these examples are “responsibility” and “self-regulation.” And, it noted, “these examples – and quite a few more – represent the confluence of ALL industry bodies to ensure that the total industry response is balanced and works for the best interests of all constituents – most importantly, consumers.”
To be clear, the 4A’s and ANA stressed that they do not believe that the IAB’s posture is sufficiently balanced. “It appears to be a tirade against the forces that disagree with our industry,” they said. “Let’s be honest. Our industry is far from perfect. Many of the problems that the IAB cited were because of an imbalanced industry that we all created and supported with our advertising investments. Did we ever utter the issues of ‘brand safety’ or ‘digital ad fraud’ ten years ago? Of course not. But it is time for our industry to clean up its messes and present a far more responsible approach to address the issues that are prevalent in our industry.”
As responsible marketers, the 4A’s and the ANA stressed their members’ need to continue to put forward “reasonable recommendations that provide balance for marketers, agencies, platforms, media, ad tech and … consumers. We can’t just duck our heads and hope that no one will notice. That is most relevant with respect to the issues surrounding privacy.”
Privacy issues have become a big concern for marketers. That’s why the 4A’s and ANA believe privacy is not a “war” to be won or a “battle” against extremists. “Privacy is a complex, multi-layered issue experienced both broadly and narrowly by a complex array of actors,” the groups said. “Its evolution as a prominent societal issue in the last decade has come with a complex array of challenges for the advertising and marketing industry.”
While Congress and regulatory agencies might disagree with the industry on the specifics of what needs to be done, the 4A’s and the ANA believe all can agree that consumer interests should come first.
“There will be plenty of debate in the years ahead in Congress and at the regulatory agencies about what needs to happen around privacy,” the ANA and 4A’s said. “As a critical issue, it should be grounded in a constructive cross-industry debate required for common sensible solutions. And that constructive debate should include members of Congress and the appropriate regulatory agencies. The road is long on these issues and alienating the very parties that we need to work with to achieve balanced consensus is not the path to take. At the end of the day, Members of Congress and regulators are doing a hard job to the best of their ability, and are seeking to find harmony amongst a lot of competing interests. Demonizing them does us no favors. To that end, let’s work constructively within our industry and with those in the regulatory and legislative arenas while simultaneously turning down the heat on the rhetoric. Instead let’s focus on cultivating real solutions and meaningful allies.”
This was not the first time the IAB CEO made controversial comments. One year ago he addressed television advertisers by proclaiming to The Current, “The way you have done business over the last decade will no longer be valid. One of the inhibitors that is standing in the way of the industry is the reliance on year-on-year comparisons.”
