Ad agency apologizes to ‘The Kingmaker’ director, takes down Imelda Marcos billboard image

MANILA, Philippines — The advertising agency behind the image of former first lady Imelda Marcos on a massive electronic billboard that greeted her on her birthday apologized on Saturday to the director of the documentary “The Kingmaker” for using without permission a photo used to promote the documentary.

In a statement published through Daily Tribune, Digital Out Of Home Philippines apologized to the documentary’s director Lauren Greenfield.

According to a photo by the Philippine Star, the image of the former first lady appeared in an electronic billboard located along JP Rizal Avenue in Makati City. The image was accompanied by a “Happy 93th [sic] Birthday,” greeting.

“First, we would like to sincerely apologize for using your ‘Kingmaker’ image for our billboards,” the advertising company said. “We must confess that we were unaware of your copyright, and we appreciate that you brought the matter to our attention.”

“Please be informed that as soon as we were made aware of the issue, we immediately took the greeting down.

The ad agency added that the image and the birthday greeting were removed from the electronic billboard.

“Please be informed that as soon as we were made aware of the issue, we immediately took the greeting down.

“Please know that we are willing to make this right with you, and if you will need our services in the future, please do not hesitate to give us a call, and we assure you that we will extend all the help that we can give,” the company added.

/MUF