Advertising Standards Authority Zimbabwe Relaunched & Ready For Change

As Robert Mugabe loosened his grip and stepped down from power in Zimbabwe, everyone looks forward to more trade, investment and an improved economy. With increased trade and investment, it is hoped that the advertising industry will not only continue upon its path of recovery but also become more robust.

The self-regulatory body for the advertising industry in Zimbabwe, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) had become dormant during the early 2000s as result of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. When the government announced abandonment of the Zimbabwe dollar and adopted the US dollar as legal currency in April 2009, there was improvement in trade and commerce and the advertising industry began to make its way back in all aspects of the media, including social media. In March 2017, the ASA relaunched and rebranded itself as ASAZIM.

As an independent body, ASAZIM works in conjunction with all entities involved in advertising in Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Association of Accredited Practitioners in Advertising (ZAAPA), Marketers Association Zimbabwe (MAZ), Advertising Media Association (ADMA) and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ). The organization is governed by an Executive Committee which is made up of representatives from the aforementioned organizations. A primary objective of ASAZIM is to provide prompt, accessible and cost-efficient mechanism to ensure advertising is “legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

In this respect, the Code of Standards (sometimes referred to as the Code of Advertising Practice) is ASAZIM's guiding document. This Code of Standards (the 'Code') was drafted based on the International Code of Advertising Practice, prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce and accepted worldwide as the basis for domestic systems of self-regulation, ASAZIM recently revised the Code to be specifically tailored to the Zimbabwean market place. It was revised by representatives of the organizations mentioned as well as those involved in communication industries. Since its re-launching, ASAZIM continues to review the Code taking into consideration current practices and use of social media and privacy rights which will likely result in further changes to the Code to meet the need of industry and consumers in Zimbabwe.

ASAZIM aims to protect consumers, ensure fair play between competitors and make sure that the advertising profession is not brought into disrepute. In terms of the Code there are an agreed set of rules and ASAZIM has...