AustLit

AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERS

Frustrated by their perceived lack of influence over the conduct of advertising practice and the status of advertising, the country’s 12 largest advertisers formed the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) in 1928. The organisation sought to enhance the advertisers’ relations with media proprietors, advertising agencies and the general public. Its proven capacity to meet this aim has seen the AANA emerge as the most resilient and influential organisation within the advertising industry.

From the outset, the AANA has maintained that ‘the advertising agent is the agent of the advertiser and not of the publisher’. Such a stance has frequently placed it on a collision course with both agencies and media outlets. Its protracted campaign against the Media Council of Australia’s accreditation system for agencies eventually led to the system’s abandonment in 1995. A growing number of agencies and media operators have since taken out AANA membership.

The AANA’s efforts to enhance the status of advertising have been equally vigorous. During World War II, it played a key role in developing the Commonwealth’s propaganda campaigns while highlighting advertising’s role in upholding freedom of speech. It has also been an ardent proponent of self-regulation and ethics in advertising. Following the collapse of the Advertising Standards Council, the AANA funded the creation of the new Advertising Standards Board, and the AANA Code of Ethics now forms the basis of its remit.

REFs: R. Crawford, But Wait, There’s More ... (2008); http://www.aana.com.au.

ROBERT CRAWFORD