Unaudited Adoi continues to defy ABC

• Un-audited Adoi continues to defy ABC
• ABC logos appear in media kits, and full page ad
• A+M awaits ABC reaction to latest Sledgehammer deception
  

Malaysia - Sledgehammer Communications has kept up its reputation for flouting Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) Malaysia regulations by continuing to use ABC logos on Adoi media kits despite the publication not being audited.

A concerned Advertising+Marketing reader supplied a copy of the Adoi media kit to this publication which included the offending logos still in place and a claim that "Adoi is the only magazine that is currently audited by the ABC".

"It is not considered an audited publication," said Peter Das today, who ended his two year term as ABC Chairman on 29 June.

Confusingly a full page ad on page 72 of Adoi's May 2009 issue is a direct photocopied version of an ABC Certificate showing average net circulation for the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007. For a publication to stay audited, a magazine cannot miss any auditing cycles which Adoi did back in May this year. 

The new ABC chairman, according to Das is 4As president Datuk Vincent Lee. At press time he could not be reached for comment as to how the ABC will react to Sledgehammer's and its CEO Harmandar Singh's latest act.

Editorial director of Lighthouse Independent Media, publishers of Advertising+Marketing, Tony Kelly was fuming about the Adoi being allowed to continually flout the ABC rules, despite assurances he would be forced to remove ABC logos.

"This is outrageous behaviour, when we have repeatedly been told that this renegade publisher would be brought into line and were assured the logo would be removed from his magazines and media kits, he is still deceiving advertisers that he is audited," he said.

"I was personally assured that he would be forced to remove the logo and 'action would be taken' against him, none of which has happened."

Over six months ago, the ABC forced the publisher to remove ABC logos from its Marketing title which illegitimately used them in its first and second edition. A check of ABC regulations today would still require more of the same action.

"This is an affront to publishers who play by the rules and any marketers who fall victim to these false claims in the media kit, advertisers in Malaysia should demand more transparent behaviour of publishers," Kelly said.

"Advertising+Marketing is looking forward to its first audit for the July to December period when the market will see the full strength of the Advertising+Marketing brand's reach into Malaysia."

Interestingly enough, the ABC logos appear again in the contents page of Adoi issues under the heading ‘support our industry by being a member of these bodies:'