MAM
Otrivin’s new initiative turns air pollution into pencils
Mumabi: Otrivin Breathe Clean has launched a new initiative, “Pollution Capture Pencils,” turning pollution waste by-products into school supplies for local children.
Air pollution is considered the world’s largest environmental health threat, with 98 per cent of children in India breathing toxic air.
The programme promotes the adoption of everyday actions that help reduce the impact of air pollution on children’s breathing health.
For the first phase of this initiative, three schools with the poorest air quality across Bengaluru were identified to partner with. Otrivin Breathe Clean installed twenty-two sustainable and self-cleaning air purifiers across these three schools, in a bid to improve the air quality of approximately one thousand school children every day, in this innovative pilot project.
After two months, these specially designed purifiers, installed both inside and outside the school buildings, had together cleaned over two billion cubic feet of polluted air. The toxic air particles, or ‘pollution residue’ were then gathered to mix with graphite.
This mixture was used as the core of 10,000 pencils, which were specially produced and designed to be distributed by teachers to students for use as tools for multiple interventions to raise funds for the installation of more air purifiers. Otrivin Breathe Clean focused on the solution and transformed the pollution residue into pencils, which will act as instruments of change for the kids.
The pencils, which come in specially designed packs designed by local Bengaluru artist Gautam Datta, reflect the identity and personality of each school and its students.
Haleon Indian subcontinent head of marketing Anurita Chopra said, “We are led by our purpose—to deliver better everyday health to humanity. In order for people to be healthy, they need to be living in a healthy world, which includes having clean air to breathe. However, air pollution is having a catastrophic impact on our ability to breathe clean air, especially amongst children, who perhaps contribute the least to this problem but are affected the most. We hope that the “Pollution Capture Pencils” initiative, as part of Otrivin’s “Actions to Breathe Cleaner” program, inspires people to take simple actions to make the world a better place to live in and breathe. Do watch out for the next chapters of the campaign, wherein we use these pencils to bring forward the expressions of the children to help build awareness as well as help many more to breathe clean.”
Panjurli Labs CEO Ashik SV said, “People all over the world are looking at India as a growing economy, but at the same time I feel India has a huge role to play in terms of helping the global economy. But first, we need to make the children healthy. Through this project, we are trying to ensure the same. The thing I’m happiest about is that every day more and more kids are able to breathe clean air for 6-7 hours per day and that we’re able to protect them during that time.”
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
