The unwillingness with the sex business
Classified ads The Swiss press is threatened with new trouble: EVP National Councilor Heiner Studer wants to ban sex offers in newspapers.
Classified ads The Swiss press is threatened with new trouble: EVP National Councilor Heiner Studer wants to ban sex offers in newspapers. The Aargau family man is still keeping the wording of his motion under wraps and tweaking the wording. Not until the spring session does he intend to submit it to parliament and thus force erotic advertisements in newspapers to be drastically restricted. If the Federal Councillors follow the National Council, newspapers will have to reckon with further losses after the massive slump in job ads. A report in the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten inspired him to do so, Studer explained to Werbewoche. In 2002, 46 percent more work permits for prostitutes were issued in the city of Zurich than the year before, it said. Studer sees a clear connection between sex ads and the increase in prostitution. "By the way they are made, the ads give the impression: this is an attractive, lucrative activity that you could try out for yourself," the politician says. Women in precarious economic situations, such as students, are particularly at risk as a result, he says.
Inaccessible for minors
Since a complete ban on advertising is unlikely to be politically enforceable, the EPP National Councilor wants to submit proposals for restrictions in his motion, which the Federal Council could use as a guide for implementation. The definitive wording has not yet been finalized, but Studer has two main options in mind. Either sex ads should only be allowed in publications that are not accessible to minors, or their content should be limited to pure facts.
The politician from Aargau is convinced that advertising that does not transport emotions is less seductive. "I believe there are areas where a protective function is necessary for overly unstable people," he clarifies his point of view. "There is an ethical limit to advertising."
Studer draws parallels to advertising for addictive substances and small loans. He has already advocated restrictions on these ads as well. He also points to the advertising restrictions for doctors and lawyers: "Why should these professions be banned from advertising if the sex trade is allowed to?
Heiner Studer accepts that the Swiss press would suffer a loss of revenue as a result of his motion. A newspaper like the Tages-Anzeiger would certainly not be threatened in its existence without sex ads, he says. Moreover, there are print media such as the Aargauer Zeitung (AZ) that would do without sex ads. Studer also wants to prevent the danger that these papers, in the face of declining sales like the Neue Zürcher Zeitung recently did with its weekly supplement NZZ-Ticket, might also move into the erotic market.
No uptight Aargauer
"It is true that AZ does not have any sex ads," confirms AZ publishing director Roland Oetterli. However, there can be no talk of a conscious decision not to do so. Rather, erotic ads within the AZ Medien Group are published by the free newspaper Aargauer Woche. "Our company does not have different morals than other newspapers," says Oetterli, "the cliché of the uptight Aargauer does not apply to us." He also said that he had already considered including eroticism in the daily newspaper, since sexual needs are actually a daily occurrence. So far, this has not been done, also in order not to endanger the advertising revenues of the Aargauer Woche.
The already sharply reduced sales of the Tages-Anzeiger (TA) would be hit hard by a sex advertising ban. This is confirmed by TA publishing director Dietrich Berg. However, he denies the figure of eight million francs per year reported by 20 Minuten. That is too high an estimate. Berg does not want to give exact figures because Tamedia, as a listed company, must observe an information embargo until the annual report is published. In addition, according to Berg, there are no internal statistics in which erotic sales are shown separately. It is relatively clear that sex advertising is not suffering from the current crisis. The volume has remained stable at one to two pages a day.
Cash payment is the rule
The fact that the erotic industry is a good, because reliable, customer is also emphasized by Andreas Wittausch, advertising manager of the Winterthur Stadtanzeiger. "Who else pays cash and net these days?" The free weekly newspaper takes in around 120000 francs a year with sex ads. This corresponds to about two percent of total sales (and is thus proportionately similar to the TA's estimated eight million francs). "That's not much," Wittausch explains, "but for weeklies, any loss is a drama."
As a salesman, a ban would hurt Wittausch - but for ethical reasons, he would welcome it. "The phenomenon is slowly getting out of hand," he says, adding that advertisers are also trying to smuggle more and more illicit, obscene expressions into the ads. That's why sex ads at the Stadtanzeiger first go on a blacklist, where they are checked for defensibility. "After all, with free newspapers they get into every mailbox, and even small children can open a mailbox," says Wittausch, explaining the precautionary measure.
CVP gets into trouble
Initiator Heiner Studer has already received such approval for his motion several times. After local radio stations had picked up on the topic, he had received some feedback. Studer does not want the motion to be understood as an election tactic. Nevertheless, it puts the CVP in a tricky position between the promotion of fundamental Christian values and the freedom of advertising, which the party has strongly advocated in the past.
Around eight percent of advertising volume is now generated by sex ads.
"WW Mr. Schmid, the motion against sex ads puts you in a dilemma: on the one hand, promoting fundamental Christian values in newspapers, on the other, restricting freedom of advertising. How do you decide?
Carlo Schmid-Sutter: I'm sorry, but as a rule I don't comment on proposals until they've been fully worked out and I've studied them. I would like to give Heiner Studer the opportunity to make something sensible out of it before I get involved with him.
The motion wants to allow sex advertising only in publications that are inaccessible to young people. It is launched in response to the increase in Zurich's sex trade.
That in itself is something I could support. But I will not comment on the motion as such until I have studied it.
Against the background of the parliamentary elections in October, can a Christian party like the CVP afford to favor economic arguments over ethical ones?
I believe that politics has fundamental ethical postulates to champion insofar as they are relevant to public life. Privacy, on the other hand, is of limited relevance to the public. Personal ethics, which regulate sexuality to a certain extent in particular, are not the subject of political standardization. There are intolerable things like depictions of violence or images that disregard the dignity of women or children; these are rightly prohibited. Advertising that does not respect the sensitivity of adolescents can also be frowned upon. I refer to the clear principles of the Foundation for Fairness in Commercial Communication. Apart from that, however, the area of eroticism is, for me, the responsibility of the individual.
Will you give Heiner Studer's motion a chance in the National Council?
I hardly think that the National Council will come out in favor of a legal restriction on sex advertising - precisely because today's sexual morals are largely liberal and most politicians do not see this as a task for the state.
The Swiss Advertising Association is committed to opposing advertising bans for tobacco and alcohol. What response can we expect to the motion against sex ads?
Swiss advertising will hardly throw itself into the fray against this motion. But it will probably adopt the soberly reserved stance that I have just outlined to you.
Interview: Stefano Monachesi
Early warning SWPolitical lobbying is the most important concern of the umbrella organization for commercial communication for the president of the Association of Swiss Advertising (SW), CVP Council of States member Carlo Schmid-Sutter. In doing so, the SW fights "the efforts to restrict communication". Monitoring it operates in the sense of an early warning system. (cb)
Stefano Monachesi
Inaccessible for minors
Since a complete ban on advertising is unlikely to be politically enforceable, the EPP National Councilor wants to submit proposals for restrictions in his motion, which the Federal Council could use as a guide for implementation. The definitive wording has not yet been finalized, but Studer has two main options in mind. Either sex ads should only be allowed in publications that are not accessible to minors, or their content should be limited to pure facts.
The politician from Aargau is convinced that advertising that does not transport emotions is less seductive. "I believe there are areas where a protective function is necessary for overly unstable people," he clarifies his point of view. "There is an ethical limit to advertising."
Studer draws parallels to advertising for addictive substances and small loans. He has already advocated restrictions on these ads as well. He also points to the advertising restrictions for doctors and lawyers: "Why should these professions be banned from advertising if the sex trade is allowed to?
Heiner Studer accepts that the Swiss press would suffer a loss of revenue as a result of his motion. A newspaper like the Tages-Anzeiger would certainly not be threatened in its existence without sex ads, he says. Moreover, there are print media such as the Aargauer Zeitung (AZ) that would do without sex ads. Studer also wants to prevent the danger that these papers, in the face of declining sales like the Neue Zürcher Zeitung recently did with its weekly supplement NZZ-Ticket, might also move into the erotic market.
No uptight Aargauer
"It is true that AZ does not have any sex ads," confirms AZ publishing director Roland Oetterli. However, there can be no talk of a conscious decision not to do so. Rather, erotic ads within the AZ Medien Group are published by the free newspaper Aargauer Woche. "Our company does not have different morals than other newspapers," says Oetterli, "the cliché of the uptight Aargauer does not apply to us." He also said that he had already considered including eroticism in the daily newspaper, since sexual needs are actually a daily occurrence. So far, this has not been done, also in order not to endanger the advertising revenues of the Aargauer Woche.
The already sharply reduced sales of the Tages-Anzeiger (TA) would be hit hard by a sex advertising ban. This is confirmed by TA publishing director Dietrich Berg. However, he denies the figure of eight million francs per year reported by 20 Minuten. That is too high an estimate. Berg does not want to give exact figures because Tamedia, as a listed company, must observe an information embargo until the annual report is published. In addition, according to Berg, there are no internal statistics in which erotic sales are shown separately. It is relatively clear that sex advertising is not suffering from the current crisis. The volume has remained stable at one to two pages a day.
Cash payment is the rule
The fact that the erotic industry is a good, because reliable, customer is also emphasized by Andreas Wittausch, advertising manager of the Winterthur Stadtanzeiger. "Who else pays cash and net these days?" The free weekly newspaper takes in around 120000 francs a year with sex ads. This corresponds to about two percent of total sales (and is thus proportionately similar to the TA's estimated eight million francs). "That's not much," Wittausch explains, "but for weeklies, any loss is a drama."
As a salesman, a ban would hurt Wittausch - but for ethical reasons, he would welcome it. "The phenomenon is slowly getting out of hand," he says, adding that advertisers are also trying to smuggle more and more illicit, obscene expressions into the ads. That's why sex ads at the Stadtanzeiger first go on a blacklist, where they are checked for defensibility. "After all, with free newspapers they get into every mailbox, and even small children can open a mailbox," says Wittausch, explaining the precautionary measure.
CVP gets into trouble
Initiator Heiner Studer has already received such approval for his motion several times. After local radio stations had picked up on the topic, he had received some feedback. Studer does not want the motion to be understood as an election tactic. Nevertheless, it puts the CVP in a tricky position between the promotion of fundamental Christian values and the freedom of advertising, which the party has strongly advocated in the past.
Around eight percent of advertising volume is now generated by sex ads.
"WW Mr. Schmid, the motion against sex ads puts you in a dilemma: on the one hand, promoting fundamental Christian values in newspapers, on the other, restricting freedom of advertising. How do you decide?
Carlo Schmid-Sutter: I'm sorry, but as a rule I don't comment on proposals until they've been fully worked out and I've studied them. I would like to give Heiner Studer the opportunity to make something sensible out of it before I get involved with him.
The motion wants to allow sex advertising only in publications that are inaccessible to young people. It is launched in response to the increase in Zurich's sex trade.
That in itself is something I could support. But I will not comment on the motion as such until I have studied it.
Against the background of the parliamentary elections in October, can a Christian party like the CVP afford to favor economic arguments over ethical ones?
I believe that politics has fundamental ethical postulates to champion insofar as they are relevant to public life. Privacy, on the other hand, is of limited relevance to the public. Personal ethics, which regulate sexuality to a certain extent in particular, are not the subject of political standardization. There are intolerable things like depictions of violence or images that disregard the dignity of women or children; these are rightly prohibited. Advertising that does not respect the sensitivity of adolescents can also be frowned upon. I refer to the clear principles of the Foundation for Fairness in Commercial Communication. Apart from that, however, the area of eroticism is, for me, the responsibility of the individual.
Will you give Heiner Studer's motion a chance in the National Council?
I hardly think that the National Council will come out in favor of a legal restriction on sex advertising - precisely because today's sexual morals are largely liberal and most politicians do not see this as a task for the state.
The Swiss Advertising Association is committed to opposing advertising bans for tobacco and alcohol. What response can we expect to the motion against sex ads?
Swiss advertising will hardly throw itself into the fray against this motion. But it will probably adopt the soberly reserved stance that I have just outlined to you.
Interview: Stefano Monachesi
Early warning SWPolitical lobbying is the most important concern of the umbrella organization for commercial communication for the president of the Association of Swiss Advertising (SW), CVP Council of States member Carlo Schmid-Sutter. In doing so, the SW fights "the efforts to restrict communication". Monitoring it operates in the sense of an early warning system. (cb)
Stefano Monachesi
