Demand for explanation from Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore with regards to Pink Dot Advertisement

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) has weighed in on the recent furor over a Pink Dot 2017 ad found at Cathay Cineleisure.

In a conversation with Marketing, an ASAS spokesperson said that all advertisements in Singapore must comply with the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), and that the premise is that all advertisements must be “legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

Noting the Public Order Act 2009 (Chapter 257A), ASAS explained that the organisers of Pink Dot may promote the event as long as they possess the necessary permit to hold it.

ASAS also cited the SCAP’s General Principles, specifically under its “Family values” section 10.1, where advertisements should not “downplay the importance of the family as a unit and foundation of society.”

There is a severe lack of transparency with regards to the decision process. The chairman of ASAS, Prof Tan Sze Wee, also being a member of Barker Road Methodist Church, needs to step forward to explain and promise the fairness or due process and the decision was not made under the influence of his religious view.