Ad Standards CEO Fiona Jolly departs after 15 years
CEO of the advertising industry self regulator, Fiona Jolly, is stepping down from the role after 15 years.
Jolly said she was thankful to have made a difference to the Australian advertising industry and thanked the board of directors for their support over the years.
Jolly has been CEO of Ad Standards for almost 15 years
Ad Standards chair, David Scribner, said the board would now “consider the strategic and operational needs of Ad Standards” ahead of the industry emerging from the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are committed to ensuring that Ad Standards continues to operate in a way that is effective, independent and sustainable and give Australian advertisers and the Australian public confidence that the system continues to run in the public interest and in the most efficient manner possible,” he said.
The board will be seeking a replacement for Jolly, but in the interim Scribner will be assisting as the Ad Standards secretariat. Jolly’s last day with the organisation will be 4 June.
Scribner noted that Jolly’s leadership had made the organisation a globally recognised advertising regulator.
“Through Fiona’s leadership, the advertising complaints system in Australia has received global recognition of effectiveness, as well as recognition of Ad Standards’ commitment to advancing the role and integrity of advertising self-regulation.
“We know from our research that the Australian public has a very high level of satisfaction with the standard of advertising in Australia. That is, in major part, due to the integrity and consistency of the Ad Standards Community Panel which adjudicates complaints about advertising content under Fiona’s expert guidance,” Scribner said.
Jolly was thankful for her time with the organisation.
“I have enjoyed my time with Ad Standards and the Advertising Standards Bureau immensely and am proud to have contributed to raising the standard for advertising self-regulation in Australia and globally through my role with the International Council for Advertising Standards,” Jolly said.
“I have worked with amazing people, and especially thank the media industry, the community panel, my great team and the board of directors for their support.”
Jolly is a founding member of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation which promotes responsible self-regulation of the industry around the world and aims to find common solutions to global challenges faced by the industry in achieving this.
In March 2018 the Advertising Standards Bureau rebranded to Ad Standards. Two months later it was announced that the Ad Standards board would be merged with that of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA).
AANA chair Martin Brown said: “The nature of advertising has changed dramatically since the AANA established Ad Standards in 1997. Throughout these changes, the independent community panel has underpinned trust in the adjudication of complaints. On behalf of everyone in the marketing community, I would like to thank Fiona.”
Currently the AANA food and beverages advertising code is open for submissions ahead of a review. In September last year the AANA code of ethics, the guide which the Ad Standards community panel uses in the deliberation of advertising complaints, opened submissions for a review, with the new version of the code expected to be released in August.
Huge loss, thank you Fiona Jolly for your advocacy and standard setting. we are a better industry because of your contribution. So sad to see you go.
User ID not verified.