The adoption of Islamic advertising guidelines by Malaysian television stations: a diffusion of innovations lens

There are distinctions between conventional advertising and Islamic advertising. The key difference between them is the Shari’ah-compliant practice that is involved in Islamic advertisements both in content and in their production process. The main purpose of the study was to explore whether selected television stations in Malaysia had adopted the Islamic advertising guidelines issued by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), a government agency that has the responsibility to oversee Islamic affairs in Malaysia. Additionally, the study investigated the factors influencing the stations’ adoption or non-adoption of the guidelines. The diffusion of innovations theory was used as the theoretical framework of the study which examined the category of adoption of the guidelines the television stations belonged to. The study used a qualitative research design by conducting in-depth interviews with the officers of key television stations such as: Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Media Prima Television Networks, and TV AlHijrah. The interviews were analysed through thematic analysis that generated several themes and codes. The outcome of the study depicts that only two television stations in Malaysia: RTM and TV Al-Hijrah utilized JAKIM’s guidelines for Islamic advertisements. The results also suggest that not all television stations in Malaysia refer to JAKIM guidelines for their content. It is the role of advertisers, advertising agencies, and the media to ensure that Islamic advertising be practiced creating a more holistic Islamic approach with regards to the marketing of halal products to the Muslim target audience in the relation to the moral dimension and the significance of the halal industry. Not only should the product, price, and place of distribution of products be Islamic, the promotions aspect (advertising) should also be Islamic for the embrace of a truly holistic adoption of Islam in the promotions of halal products.