Marketers distressed over the volume of advertising clutter on television airwaves have even more reason to be concerned as the din of political advertising continues to grow in the days leading up to the June 3 Ontario election.

The problem is expected to be so severe that the Association of Canadian Advertisers is advising its Ontario members to consider hitting up their media buying agencies for compensation ‘for the dilution of their advertising message.’

According to Bob Reaume, ACA’s vice-president of media and research, election ad clutter has been a concern of the Association’s for a number of years. It’s a particularly irksome issue, he says, because political parties can request preferential time slots, forcing broadcasters to bump advertisers that have already booked those slots. Adding insult to injury, the make-goods offered are usually scheduled at less attractive times than the original buys.

According to a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission circular, Ontario broadcasters are required to allocate time to political parties, and, in the event of a conflict between private sector and political advertisers over a sold-out schedule, the political advertiser gets preferential treatment.

To make matters worse, broadcasters do not have to count political advertising as part of their allowable 12-minute-per-hour maximum, meaning those advertisers who do get to keep their slots often find their commercials drowned out in a cacophony of political messages.

The fact that the CRTC has not even set a per-hour limit on advertising during the run up to the election is something Reaume finds troubling, especially in light of the fact that studies conducted by Nielsen Media Research on behalf of the ACA indicate that broadcasters are already exceeding that per-hour maximum on a regular basis.

A study conducted in the fall of 1998 shows that 81% of broadcasters across Canada exceeded the 12-minute maximum with an average of 14.65 minutes per hour.

The only bit of good news for Ontario advertisers is the fact that there is a set limit to the number of days election advertising can run – 21 – and the advertising must stop the day before the vote.

But each political party can spend a small fortune – up to 60 cents for every elector elegible to vote for a total of about $6.4 million – to reach Ontario voters during that time. Then there are the individual candidates, who can spend up to 96 cents for every elector in their riding.

When budgets of that size are compressed into a three-week period, it’s no wonder advertisers are complaining of clutter.

And if political party advertising isn’t enough, a number of citizens’ and labour organizations are promoting their agendas with ad campaigns of their own.

Those include an anti-Mike Harris campaign targeting young voters funded by an alliance of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and the Canadian Auto Workers Union.

Meanwhile, Ontarians for Responsible Government (ORG), part of the National Citizens’ Coalition, is in the midst of a radio and billboard campaign.

ORG started by asking the Tories to change labour laws so union dues don’t go to support political causes. The second leg targets the Liberals.

As for whether advertisers will heed the ACA’s call to action, Reaume says he hasn’t heard directly from any association members but adds he has received several calls from agencies looking for clarification of the ACA’s position.

‘We issue the warning,’ he says, ‘but we cannot ask our members in any way to act in concert on this matter because we’re dealing with contract law here.’