Q.

Advertising Standards Council of India

A. Advertising Standards Council of India is a Self-Regulatory Voluntary
organization of the advertising industry. It was set up in October 1985 by the
advertising industry itself consisting of advertisers, advertising agencies, media
owners and allied professionals like consumer researchers, processors, film makers,
etc. to regulate the content of advertising. With the primary purpose of protecting
consumer interest, but also to ensure fairness in competition ASCI is a voluntary Self-
Regulatory organization, registered as a not-for-profit Company under section 25 of
the Indian Cos. Act. The sponsors of the ASCI, who are its principal members, are
firms of considerable repute within Industry in India, and comprise Advertisers,
Media, and Ad. Agencies and other professional /ancillary services connected with
advertising practice. ASCI is Registered in Oct. 1985, u/s 25, as a Not-For-Profit Co.,
under the Companies Act 1956 The advertisers' association, namely the Indian Society
of Advertisers, the advertising agencies' association, namely The Advertising
Agencies Association of India, the media owner's association, namely The Indian
Newspapers Society, came together and took the initiative to form the ASCI (the
council). From July 1, 2007 ASCI Become the EASA Member. Member of the
European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA),

• Role and Functions of ASCI

The Role and Functioning of the ASCI & its CCC in dealing with Complaints
received from Consumers and Industry, against Advertisements which are considered
as False, Misleading, Indecent, Illegal, leading to Unsafe practices, or Unfair to
competition, and consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation
in Advertising.

• What is the power of ASCI?

ASCI's role has been acclaimed by various agencies including the Government.
However, it lacked the force of legal recognition. The Government of India has at last,
taken note of this and by one stroke on 2nd August 2006 vide a notification in The
Gazette of India: Extraordinary {Part II –sec. 3(i)}, made sure that at least as far as
TV Commercials go, they abide by the ASCI code. The amendment made in Cable
Television Networks Rules, 1994 through a Notification dated August 2nd, 2006 now
states: “(9) No advertisement which violates the Code for Self-Regulation in
Advertising, as adopted by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI),
Mumbai for public exhibition in India, from time to time, shall be carried in the cable
service".

• Who complains against Ads to the ASCI? What are the no. of complaints
received annually?

The ASCI receives and processes 120-140 complaints against advertisements, from a
cross section of consumers and the general public, and this covers individuals,
practitioners in advertising, advertiser firms, media, and ad. Agencies and ancillary
services connected with advertising.

• How long does it take for a decision on a Complaint to be taken?

It takes 4 to 6 weeks from the date we receive a "complete" complaint. This should
include full particulars of the Print Ad, the name and date of Publication, and clipping
or copy of the print Ad .In case of a TVC airing, we require the Channel, date and
time of the TVC. Reasonable description of an A/V, specific claims or visual
depictions which are considered to be false, misleading or objectionable and the
reasons for the same.

• How do ASCI protect the confidentiality of the Complainant?

As a policy the ASCI does not disclose the identity of the complainant to the
Advertiser or anyone other than the members of the CCC, at the time of their meeting,
which is usually held once a month.

• Do Advertisers abide by the decisions of ASCI?

In the case of complaints which were upheld by the CCC, during the past year, it may
interest you to know that 85 to 90 % of such Ads have been withdrawn or modified
appropriately by the Advertisers/Agencies involved. The concerned Media have also
confirmed that they would not carry such offending Ads/TVC.

• ASCI guidelines / rules which agencies have to follow

The ASCI has a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising which covers the following
principles:
I. To ensure the truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made by
advertisements and to safeguard against misleading advertisements.

II. To ensure that advertisements are not offensive to generally accepted standards of
public decency.

III. To safeguard against the indiscriminate use of advertising for the promotion of
products which are regarded as hazardous to society or to individuals to a degree or of
a type which is unacceptable to society at large?

IV. To ensure that advertisements observe fairness in competition so that the

consumer’s needs to be informed on choices in the market-place and the canons of
generally accepted competitive behaviour in business are both served.

• How does ASCI usually take action with regards to complaints? How far is its
power?

The ASCI Board consists of 16 members, 4 each from each of the 4 sectors. The
Board appoints a CCC to deliberate on complaints. The CCC consists of 21 members,
only 9 from within the industry and 12 from outside, consisting of educationists,
lawyers, doctors, technologists, consumer activists and the like. The CCC meets once
a month to deliberate on complaints that are ready for deliberations, ie both the
complaint and the defendant's response is available. The decision of the CCC is final
although there is a provision for a review. The CCC decision has no legal sanction
although compliance is generally as high as 88%

Q. Advertising Agencies Associations of India

A. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the official, national
organization of advertising agencies, formed to promote their interests so that they
continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation, by
working towards the following objectives:

• To benefit Indian consumers and to protect their interests by helping ensure that
advertising is honest and in good taste.

• To benefit Indian advertisers by promoting their sales, increasing their sales and
increasing productivity and profitability, to stimulate business and industrial activity.

• To benefit media by establishing sound business practices between advertisers and

advertising agencies and each of the various media owners.

• To benefit the nation by harnessing advertising for the good of the country, its
institutions, its citizens; to co-operate with the Government in promoting its social
objectives and in the task of nation-building.

• To question advertising that is wasteful and extravagant.

• To improve the image of the advertising industry and to focus on its role in
economic development and employment through campaigns, seminars, press relations
and direct contact with Government ministries.

• To protect members’ interests n issues related to Guidelines and Rules of

Commercial Broadcast, Sponsorship, Rates, Commission and Accreditation; working
towards full service operations at all TV Channels / Doordarshan Kendras and Radio
Channels; setting up an independent monitoring body for commercials.

• To protect members’ interest in matters relating to INS policies, credit periods, Rules
for Accreditation and streamlined operations, promotions of better production values
and effective advertising purchases.

• To improve the quality of professional relationships between Agencies and Clients

through seminars, the AAAI Handbook and the evolution of uniform guidelines, codes
and norms.

• To help settle disputes through evolution of guidelines, procedures and uniform

practices; mediating between agency-client, agency-agency and agency-media to
ensure quick resolution of disputes.

• To constantly examine all relevant laws and statutes affecting the advertising
industry including ESIS, Sales Tax, other taxes, Arbitration, MRTP guidelines;
seeking professional advice and presenting a common viewpoint at relevant forums to
protect members interests; pursuing new avenues like Credit Insurance cover, etc.
• To organize seminars and workshops on effective advertising skills in creative
copywriting, print and production, client servicing, television production, media
operations, media planning, advertising as a career, etc; maintaining a fully stocked
reference library with a reprint service for members.

• To constantly communicate members through circulars and correspondence; periodic

publication of an updated membership directory, regular regional meetings for
members and their employees.

• To offer the services of the Association and members in significant projects, e.g.: for
Family Planning, the National Wastelands Development Board, Gujarat Earthquake
relief, etc; encouraging the creation of such advertising by members. There are
innumerable instances of successful AAAI activities, with benefits to the entire
advertising industry and all others associated with it

Q. The Code for Self - Regulation in Advertising

A. The advertising industry has a reasonably effective and efficient self-regulation
mechanism. By self –regulation it is meant that advertisements should be such that
they do not violate the Code of Self-Regulation , laid down by various statutes in India
as well as abroad. This is done in order to maintain honesty and truthfulness in the
advertisement of products and services shown to prospective customers with a view to
attract them towards their goods. It is rightly said – Advertising is essentially a thing
to induce consumption to make people buy things they do not want. In such a process,
advertisements tend to mislead people, so that they buy things they really do not
need.”

A product or service may be advertised through a variety of methods such as hand –

bills, circulars, direct mail, bill- boards, signboards, newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, the internet and so on. There are various kinds of advertising such as –
comparative advertising which compares the advertised brands with another brand of
the same product. ; Competitive advertising which contains very insignificant
information about advertisement and is used only to help a producer maintain a share
of the market.

Advertisement is a facet of right to information. A vital aspect of advertising that

makes it a part of Article 19(1) (a) is that it facilitates the dissemination information
about who is selling what product and at which price. Advertisements help people
make well-informed and intelligent economic choices. More important than the right
of expression of the advertiser is the right of the recipient of the advertisement. The
supreme court observed in Tata Pres V/s Mahanagar telephone Nigam Ltd. –
ARTICLE 19 (1)(a) not only gurantees right of freedom of speech and expression but
the but it also protects the right of an individual to listen, read and receive “
commercial speech”. So far the economic needs of a citizen are concerned their
fulfillment has to be guided by the information disseminated through advertisement.
The recipient of “commercial speech” may be having greater interest in the
advertisement given. Such deeper interest can be dealt with dishonesty by the
advertiser as the consumer totally relies on the information provided by the advertiser
through his advertisement of the given product.

To regulate advertisement according to the self-regulation code and also otherwise is

provided for in certain statutory provisions – say for example, Indian penal code, 1860
makes it a punishable offence to advertise any obscene publication or its distribution,
sale, hire or circulation or so on. Now the code for self-regulation in advertising
pertinent extracts adopted by the Advertising Standard council of India under Article
2(ii) of its Article of association.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) (1985) has adopted a Code for
Self-Regulation in Advertising. It is a commitment to honest advertising and to fair
competition in the market-place. It stands for the protection of the legitimate interests
of consumers and all concerned with advertising - advertisers, media, advertising
agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of advertisements. As the
Code becomes increasingly accepted and observed pro-actively, three things will
begin to happen.

· Fewer false, misleading claims

· Fewer unfair advertisements

· Increasing respectability

This only means more freedom for you to practice your craft or carry on your business
effectively. As a member of ASCI, you can mould the course of Self-Regulation and
participate in the protection of healthy, effective advertising. You can have a say,
through the Board of Governors, in the further development of the Code and future
appointments to the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). Membership of the ASCI
(open only to Firms ) entitles you to appoint your nominee to discharge your function
as a member nothing can be better than self-discipline. External regulations imposed
by law would not really be necessary if this ideal would have been effective. In this
article, I will deal with malpractices in advertising and misleading which after
complaint to the ASCI had to be taken off the Air. Advertisement and how efficacious
or meaningless is the so-called self-regulation in advertising by the Advertising
Standards Council of India (ASCI) having its office at Bombay.

Everyday we see various advertisements on various mass media example – television,

internet, radio. Many of these advertisements are objectionable. As recently there was
an objectionable advertisement of Amul Macho underwear which after complaint to
the ASCI had to be taken off the air.The difficulty is in describing what is obscene
advertisements, because what is obscene is subjective and depends on individual
perceptions. Here reference is on patently false and misleading and uncomfortable
advertisements. We regularly come across advertisements which promote dubious
products, making unsubstantiated tall claims about their wondrous performance. The
side-effects or the harmful effects of these products are invariably suppressed.
Advertisers often make misleading statements about the utility of their products. What
is done to check these misrepresentations?

The ASCI has formulated its Self-Regulatory code which is wonderfully attractive on
paper. But what does it do about misleading advertisements? Simply nothing. Turns a
blind eye. No attempt is made to caution the public about the misrepresentation. No
press release is issued to make the public aware that they should not believe these
misrepresentations.
It is necessary to pin point the areas where consumers require to be cautioned in order
to prevent them from being misled by such advertisements. A genuine example would
be- it is common to see on railway platforms and in trains advertisements of quacks
posing as doctors. The commonest advertisements are for piles and abortion clinics.
The Medical Council’s Code of Ethics prevents doctors from advertising. Disciplinary
action is taken against doctors who advertise their services or against those who
participate in advertisements for promoting a particular medicine, vitamin or drug.
Hence genuine doctors do not advertise. Those who seek confidentiality for their
problems fall prey to these quacks. Yet the Railway Administration is not bothered
about these advertisement.

The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954. This Act
prohibits the advertisement of any diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention
of certain diseases / disorders / conditions listed under the Schedule to this Act. There
is a celebrated case law which falls under the ambit of this laws blatant violation it is
Hamadard davakhana case. The facts of the case was a drug was advertised it have the
quality to magically cure certain types of diseases, which in fact was not so. The court
held that these are misleading advertisement and the defendant was held liable.

The Schedule lists 54 such disorders and conditions amongst which are included
cancer, obesity, fits, sexual impotence, and also drugs for maintaining or improving
sexual pleasure, or drugs... for causing miscarriage or prevention of conception.

The Act provides that its violation would be a cognizable offence. Even the media
which carries or displays the advertisement commits the offence by participating in
the advertising process. Yet the police do not take cognizance of such advertisements.
The lucrative and recurring revenue generated by these advertisements is more
important to newspapers, television channels and advertising agencies and it is
profitable to disregard the law.

When nobody is bothering about such advertisements, not even consumer

organizations, why should ASCI be expected to take action? Because ASCI has been
set up by businessmen and industrialists specifically for self-regulation in advertising.
Why should it make a farce of the whole complaint process?

The classical example would be the Cola wars. Can anybody deny these as to be
blatant misleading expressions of these Colas, as in they are so important for survival?
But nobody has the courage to question them because they are huge and powerful
companies. Is it not so.

Conclusion
The code of Self –Regulation drawn up for advertisers India is not at all sufficient and
there should be more sincere observance of the code. However whenever there is
competitive advertisement the competition drags each of the advertisers to the ASCI
which is a non –statutory body. But whenever there is breach of public confidence by
these advertisers by showing misleading advertisements, they should be immediately
checked to safeguard the interest of innocent customers. Moreover there should be a
statutory regulatory authority instead of ASCI which is non-statutory which being so,
has no binding authority on the non-members. This would definitely help to improve
the quality of advertisements in India.