Ad regulatory board stops airing of Battle of Mactan spoof

CEBU CITY—The Ad Standards Council (ASC) has recalled the Clearance to Air of a diaper TV commercial which implied that the Battle of Mactan started over diapers.

In a letter addressed to Jones Campos, executive director of the Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard), ASC executive director Mila Marquez said they have recalled the clearance to air the TV commercial after the National Historical Commission issued on Friday a cease and desist order against the EQ diaper commercial.

The commercial showed that a character supposedly representing Ferdinand Magellan gave a box of diapers to a character representing Lapu-Lapu for the latter’s child. But a character supposedly representing Lapu-Lapu’s wife checked the diapers and found them of low quality.

The wife supposedly wanted EQ diapers instead. Lapu-Lapu took the low quality diaper gift as an insult and the Battle of Mactan started.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza is protesting the commercial, saying it is “distorting the history of the country.”

Radaza also asked the distributor of the diaper, JS Unitrade, to issue a public apology and to stop airing the commercial.

An online petition was also started asking the distributor to stop airing the commercial. The Lapu-Lapu City government will commemorate the Battle of Mactan (Kadaugan Sa Mactan) with a reenactment on April 27.

Marquez said the ASC would provide a copy of the recall letter to the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and GMA TV.

The Philippine Association of National Advertisers (Pana) will also be given a copy of the letter so they could advise the advertiser of Lapu-Lapu City’s demand for apology, she added.

In a statement issued Monday, Mayor Radaza welcomed the decision of the ASC and the National Historical Commission as Lapu-Lapu City prepares for the Kadaugan sa Mactan.