Indonesia bans foreign ads

HONG KONG – Indonesia has banned foreign-made advertisements and commercials.

Move, which came in a joint decree from the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Depkominfo) and the ministry of Culture and Tourism (Depbudpar), is intended to boost the Indonesian ad industry. "Advertisements to be shown in Indonesia must use human and natural resources of Indonesia," it said.

"The joint decree is aimed at giving more opportunities to domestic production houses, and the employment of one foreign expert must be accompanied by three domestic workers for transfer of skill," communications minister Muhammad Nuh said.

Exceptions to the new ruling include commercials for tourism promotion of foreign countries, properties located outside Indonesia; international games, competition and education, and global brands that use the same actors all over the world.

Local television stations with ad revenues of $2.45 billion enjoyed a 66% share of the country's ad market last year. Newspapers accounted for 30% and magazines 4%.

Advertisement spending during the January-March 2008 period increased to $922 million from $747 million in the same period last year.