aruni Amunugama Fernando, the Joint Managing Director of award-winning ad agency Triad told a recent edition of BENCHMARK that “the colourful people in the advertising industry do not like change, they do not like new things happening. A lot of old hands who come up from within the ranks feel like they own the industry – but funnily, ‘The Chillies’ is developed with the agreement of all of those in the ad industry… nobody forced this on them! It is funny that when certain people don’t win, this type of discussion comes into play.”

Fernando was speaking to the highly regarded business show for television BENCHMARK, which airs island-wide on TNL every week.

BENCHMARK’s Savithri Rodrigo recalled that the controversy has largely centred around the awards night that has come to be known as ‘The Chillies’, because some industry insiders claim that the judging mechanisms favoured newcomers. 

Fernando was also asked to comment on bigger picture ad-industry, especially whether the newly introduced tax provisions – which deem only 50 per cent of advertising by clients to be deductible for tax purposes – were affecting business.

“I really don’t think that the ad tax has had an impact… The whole issue arose from how the media communicated it, not interpreted it,” she claimed. Fernando also explained that “if you take a strong brand”, it is “going to work according to a brand plan” – so, given the fact that it would “continue to infuse money”, the agencies wouldn’t suffer.

Responding to a question on what the industry expects from the forthcoming fiscal budget, the joint head of Triad observed: “Agencies expect a lot of things, but not really from the budget – because, as history shows, the advertising industry has not been looked upon as an industry per se.”

And how does she view the media, especially those sections of the so-called independent media that have seemingly joined the war bandwagon? “Being an advertising agency, we see a lot of that. Circulation and marketing figures, advertising statistics and even the type of advertising come into play – because all that is dependent on content… and now there’s a wide choice,” Fernando contended. And she added: “But what is really disheartening is that the truth is not accepted. Every media house claims that they are in business for the betterment of society; but since of late, a really negative and even aggressive stance has crept in.”  

BENCHMARK is presented by pioneering business magazine LMD and produced by the wrap factory. It airs on TNL every Sunday at noon and 9.05 p.m., and on Monday at 10 p.m. on LBN cable TV’s Bloomberg channel.