MAM
ASCI upholds complaints against 100 ads for violating code
MUMBAI: In May 2015, The Advertising Standard Council of India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 100 out of 141 advertisements in May 2015.
Out of 100 ads against which complaints were upheld, 46 belonged to the Personal and Healthcare category, followed by 22 in the Education category, 10 in Food and Beverage category, five in Telecom category and 17 from other categories.
In the Personal and Healthcare segment, the CCC found 46 claims from advertisers for products or services to be either misleading or false or not adequately/scientifically substantiated and hence violating ASCI’s Code.
Some of the health care products or services advertisements also contravened provisions of the Drug & Magic Remedies Act and Chapter 1.1 and III.4 of the ASCI Code.
Complaint against advertisement upheld includes Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever, Celebrate Life Wellness, Modi Naturals, Lotus Safe Sun UV Screen Matte Gel, Omega Hospitals and VLCC Healthcare amongst others.
In the Education category, the CCC upheld complaints against 22 advertisers whose claims in ads were not substantiated and, thus, violated ASCI guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions. Some of them includes Aptech Limited, Lalani Group, Utkarsh Institute and Podar World School.
In the Food & Beverages category, the CCC found that claims in ads by 10 advertisers were not substantiated and upheld complaints against Britannia Industries, K.C. Food Products Private Limited, Pepsi Foods P. Ltd and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd amongst others.
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Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
