JAKARTA - The glorification of Saipul Jamil's freedom has sparked a cancel culture. The petition against Saipul's appearance in public spaces provoked great participation. Television that presents Saipul in their program has become the target of criticism. Even the brands that sponsor the program are in the spotlight. If it's like this, is Saipul still a good business for the entertainment industry?
The petition first appeared on Friday, September 3, a few hours after Saipul was released and the news glorification was massively shown by the mass media, especially infotainment. The petition, which was initiated by Let's Talk and Enjoy, is entitled BOYCOTT SAIPUL JAMIL, A FORMER PEDOPHILIA PRISONER SHOWS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION AND YOUTUBE.
"Don't let ex-convicts of early childhood abuse (pedophilia) still wander happily in the world of entertainment, while their victims are still traumatized... Really hope that television stations do the same by boycotting ex-convicts of child molestation (pedophilia) appears. Hopefully, this petition will produce satisfactory results," the petition reads.
Public participation in the petition was extensive. As of the writing of this article on Monday afternoon, September 6, at 2:48 p.m. Western Indonesia Time, the petition, which targets 500 thousand participations, has earned 406,556 signatures. Not just a petition. Many public figures also voiced resistance to Saipul's existence in the public sphere.
Angga Dwimas Sasongko, for example. Founder and CEO of Visinema canceled all distribution agreements for the film Nussa and Keluarga Cemara on television stations featuring Saipul. This attitude was taken by Visinema as an effort to realize how destructive the exposure, let alone the glorification of Saipul's figure, was in the public sphere.
"In response to the presence of Saipul Jamil on television in a way that does not respect the victims, we have stopped all discussions of the Nussa and Cemara film distribution agreement with the relevant TV stations because they do not share the same values as our child-friendly work... This is a shared awareness of the importance of media that respect our children," said Angga through his Twitter account @anggasasongko, Sunday, September 5th.
Angga Sasongko's tweet was uploaded in the midst of protests against Trans TV and Trans7, the two television stations that feature Saipul in their flagship programs: Kopi Viral and BTS. Later, Trans TV delivered its official apology. Trans TV also promised to make the Saipul case a momentum to evaluate their broadcast policy.
"We receive criticism and input regarding the Kopi Viral program which airs on TRANS TV on Friday, September 3, 2021, with guest star Saipul Jamil," wrote the Instagram account @transtv_corp, Monday, September 6.
"We apologize for the broadcast. This is a special concern and has carried out a thorough evaluation to be a lesson and improvement in the future. Thank you for your attention," written in the statement.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by TRANS TV (@transtv_corp)
The chain effect of brand destruction
It didn't stop at Trans TV, a number of brands that sponsored the two problematic programs above were also targeted. Twitter account, @tilehopper uploaded a list of these brands. Some of them are Unilever, Wings Group, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Tempo Scan, and Mayora.
In addition there are also PT Tirta Fresindo Jaya (Le Minerale), Kapal Api, as well as L'Oreal, Bank Mega, PT Sarihusada Generasi Mahardika (SGM), PT Nutricia Indonesia (Nutrilon Royal), Danone (AQUA), Mondelez Indonesia (Biskuat, Oreo), Shopee Indonesia, Indofood, PT Heinz ABC, Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK-Sensodyne).
Business and marketing analyst, Yuswohadi observes this incident as a chain effect of the destruction of a number of brands due to their association with problematic entities, in this case, Saipul, which is a personal brand. In this perspective, Saipul is no longer a good business.
As a personal brand, Saipul has experienced what Yuswohadi calls a reputation ruin. A brand is basically built on trust. When that factor is no longer owned by Saipul as a brand, he is finished.
Saipul Jamil (Source: www.saipuljamil.com)
"Artists are brands. There is a brand identity or reputation... When the brand has no credibility, the brand automatically becomes dead. It falls. Even though he is famous, but he is bad, that business will not sell," said Yuswohadi to VOI, Monday, September 6th.
"So actually when a product or TV station hires a celebrity or personal brand, it's actually like a collaboration. Between a product brand and this personal. If one is bad, one of them gets hit. If it's good, it strengthens each other," he added.
Not without reason, Yuswohadi chose the word "out." Looking at the industrial climate, Yuswohadi predicts this as Saipul's career in the entertainment world, specifically television. And this is part of the organic resistance movement of the public.
"Social sanctions for brands are already very difficult to return. Trans TV has also been hit by a bad reputation, he seems to be supportive. That says two brands that are united, Trans TV will be hit. Now when he finds out he has been hit, he will avoid it," Yuswohadi explained.
"This is what happens next, all brands will not use Saipul Jamil. It's like their career is hampered. It can be said to be dead. It doesn't have a reputation anymore. Its brand reputation has been destroyed in reputation theory," he added.
KPI promises to monitor Saipul's appearance on television
Saipul Jamil in a television program (Instagram/@saipuljamilreal)
What Yuswohadi said was confirmed with a statement by the Commissioner of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Nuning Rodiyah. Contacted by VOI, Monday, September 6, Nuning promised that her party would closely monitor the appearance of Saipul on television stations.
"First, KPI's attitude towards public unrest considers that the 300 thousand petitions submitted by the public are something that must be considered. This is not a matter of playing games. This is public unrest that must be responded to," she said.
According to Nuning, KPI has written to all broadcasters, both television and radio, to stop amplifying the narratives that glorify Saipul. Nuning also promised not to let Saipul appear on television except for some reasons.
Saipul may only appear on television if the content being broadcast contains positive contemplation or is a journalistic product containing facts. "What has to be shown to the public is that sexual misconduct should not be taken for granted."
"So the public must ensure, for example, that a news story about the release of Saipul Jamil, not then its glorification must be highlighted. This is something wrong when ex-convicts of sexual crimes are glorified as if they were heroes, for example."