Advertising in Indonesia

A Joint Ministerial Regulation by the Minister of Communication and Information and the Minister of Culture and Tourism has been issued with a view to capitalizing on the rapid increase in the production of advertisements and advertising in the global advertising market. The basic premise is that there is a need to ensure that advertising in Indonesia exploits this opportunity to develop and expand the skills and resources base domestically.

The three primary features will therefore be:

* raising the quantity and quality of advertisements;
* drive growth in skills, resources, and facilities; and
* promote the rich cultural diversity of Indonesia.

The Regulation requires that all human resources and back drops or settings must be sourced in Indonesia. This requirement is absolute for advertisements that are for the Indonesian market. The editing process is also to be done locally. However, where there is a need for the editing or voicing to be done somewhere else then the reasons for this need to be explained and justified.

All foreign advertisements are prohibited. There are exceptions to this seemingly absolute prohibition:

* advertisements that deal with international tourism and tourist locations;
* advertisements for international property;
* advertisements for international sporting competitions;
* advertisements for global brands; and
* advertisement for national flag ships.

The Regulation has been in force since 30 May 2008.