The director of an advertising firm has accused Labour secretary-general Jason Micallef of ordering party employees to remove a billboard banner featuring MEP candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici, despite having no direct ownership of the advert in question.
MaltaToday can confirm that on Saturday afternoon, a Labour party employee was instructed to remove a canvas banner advertising the Smash TV programme ‘Id-Drittijiet Taghna Fl-Ewropa’ (our rights in Europe), which features Labour MEP candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici as a permanent guest answering questions from various journalists.
The programme is produced and financed by the advertising firm AVG, which has handled other advertising for Ellul Bonici.
AVG director Frank Cachia told MaltaToday that on Friday he received a phone-call from Jason Micallef, instructing him to remove the banner, which belongs to him.
“I was told the banner could not stay, so I talked him into a compromise. We would remove Sharon Ellul Bonici’s image and instead enlarge the text. I told him the banner would be replaced by Monday, and we came to an agreement,” Cachia said.
But on Saturday afternoon, Cachia was informed that two banners – on billboards in Msida and Marsa – had been removed by a Labour party employee. He said he called Micallef soon after, but the secretary-general hung up after a heated exchange between the two.
“The airtime on Smash TV was purchased by my company, and the banner advertises my programme and is paid by AVG as well,” Cachia said. “It is my property entirely.”
The billboard itself is owned by the private company Streetcom.
Attempts to contact Jason Micallef yesterday evening proved futile, as his mobile phone was switched off.
On her part, the PL candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici explained she was not involved in the issue.
“The billboards, as well as the programme itself, are the property of the company which bought the airtime on Smash TV. I am a permanent guest on that programme in my capacity as a consultant on EU affairs. I’m there to answer questions about various aspects of the EU.
“As for the billboards, these are the property of the company producing the show, in conjunction with Smash TV. From what I understand Jason Micallef wasn’t happy about them and took the initiative to have them removed. But I had nothing to do with either the billboards or their removal.”
Ellul Bonici said that she had not been consulted or approached about the issue by the Labour Party before the billboards were removed.
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