President of the Advertising Association of Ghana, Andrew Ackah, has raised concerns about the presence of charlatans in the advertising industry, who employ coercion as a tool of their trade.

According to Mr Ackah, businesses are advertising on major platforms without proper vetting, which can negatively impact viewers.

In an interview with Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, Andrew Ackah expressed mixed feelings about the current state of the industry. "It is great that more professionals are joining the industry and producing quality work," he said, adding, "However, it is also quite concerning that brands use non-professionals who make dubious claims and use uncensored language in their advertisements. This is worrying.”

He explained that if one looks critically at why this is so, it boils down to the fact that there are no regulations in the Ghanaian advertising space that pushes practitioners of the craft to go by laid down rules.

Ackah explained that the lack of regulation in the industry allows practitioners to operate without adhering to standards.

He cited Nigeria as an example of effectively regulated industry: “In Nigeria, their first advertising group was established in 1988, and their advertising council is now quite advanced. Currently, in Nigeria, you cannot shoot an advert with any foreigner; it must feature Nigerians. This policy encourages local investment in people and the economy, and it helps production houses to grow because they are creating new advertisements. It is concerning that we do not have similar regulations, allowing anyone to do as they please."

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Mr Ackah also criticised the quality of content on some digital television channels, calling it “despicable.”

He further noted, “We have charlatans coercing or persuading viewers to pay money for them to get something which is not tangible.”

 Mr Ackah emphasised the misleading nature of some advertisements, which often make dubious claims about spiritual services or family advice. “It is quite disheartening, a country that we live in, that we all love, we will get to a point where technically everyone decides what they want to do because there are no repercussions on their actions.

He expressed frustration over what he called the delay in regulatory efforts, explaining that the association has been trying to push a regulatory bill for a long time without success.