iWorld
ASCI unveils final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media
Mumbai: Advertisers now have a clear set of guidelines on which they can base their influencer driven ads/commercials. Industry watchdog – the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci) – unveiled the final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media today. The ombudsman had initially released some draft guidelines in February and sought feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers and consumers. Asci then incorporated the responses before drawing up the final framework. To ensure a collaborative process and expert inputs, ASCI tied up with Big Bang Social, a leading marketplace for social storytelling, to get India’s leading digital influencers’ views on board.
The new rules will become applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after 14 June 2021. The guidelines clearly lay out the definitions for the terms influencer, virtual influencer, material connection and digital media. Asci has introduced Asci.social platform- a digital platform that will house information about the rules applicable to the community of influencers, marketers, agencies and consumers. Additionally, all promotional content in which they feature will have to mandatory be labelled as such by the influencers. Asci has roped in Reech, a French technology provider to monitor potential violations of the guidelines.
GUIDELINES:
Disclosure: All advertisements published by social media influencers or their representatives, on such influencers’ accounts must carry a disclosure label that clearly identifies it as an advertisement.
Criteria for disclosure :
a. Disclosure is required if there is any material connection between the advertiser and the influencer.
b. Material connection isn’t limited to monetary compensation. And includes anything of value given to mention or talk about the Advertiser’s product or service, like free or discounted products or service or other perks
c. a disclosure is needed even if they weren’t specifically asked to talk about that product or service.
d. Disclosures are required even if the evaluations are unbiased or fully originated by Influencer, so long as there is a material connection between Advertiser and Influencer.
e. If there is no material connection and the influencer is telling people about a product or service they bought and happen to like, that is not considered to be an advertisement and no disclosure is required on such posts.
· Disclosure must be upfront and prominent so that it is not missed by an average consumer
· Any one or more disclosure labels can be used: advertisement, ad, sponsored, collaboration, partnership, employee, free gift
· If the advertisement is only a picture or video post without accompanying text (such as Instagram stories or Snapchat), the disclosure label needs to be superimposed over the picture/video
I. For videos that last 15 seconds or less, the disclosure label must stay for a minimum of 3 seconds.
II. For videos which are 2 minutes or longer, the disclosure label must stay for the entire duration of the section in which the promoted brand is mentioned.
· In live streams, the disclosure label should be announced at the beginning and the end of the broadcast.
· In the case of audio media, the disclosure must be clearly announced at the beginning and at the end of the audio, and before and after every break that is taken in between.
· The disclosure should be in English OR in the language as the advertisement itself in a way that is easy for an average consumer to understand.
Responsibility of disclosure of material connection and also of the content of advertisement is upon the advertiser for whose product or service the advertisement is, and also upon the Influencer.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
