MAM
ASCI Board appoints Partha Sinha as new chairman
Mumbai: Post the board meeting held today following the 38th Annual General Meeting, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) appointed Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd chief brand officer & president, Partha Sinha as the chairman of the ASCI Board of Governors for 2024-25. Pidilite Industries Ltd managing director Sudhanshu Vats, was appointed vice-chairman, and Lintas India Private Ltd Group CEO & chief strategy officer-APAC, S. Subramanyeswar was appointed hon. Treasurer.
Sinha comes with a rich and vast experience with top organisations such as Bennet Coleman, Ogilvy, Publicis, BBH, McCann, and Citibank, along with his stronghold of brand marketing, media, and communications.
Sinha expressed a compelling vision for ASCI. “Being the chairperson of ASCI is both an honour and a profound responsibility, especially as our industry is under greater scrutiny by our stakeholders. With rapid changes in the digital environment and the emergence of new challenges. ASCI is committed to not just keeping up but to staying ahead. Deploying technology and AI to monitor errant advertising as well as putting our might behind preventive measures will be our focus in the days to come. This will ensure that creativity and responsibility coexist, creating an ecosystem that values consumers and encourages innovation.”
Reflecting on his term, outgoing chairman Saugata Gupta said, “Leading ASCI through a period that witnessed significant development and change has been a privilege. This year has been marked by historic milestones, including the formation of the ASCI Academy, which has become a cornerstone in promoting responsible and progressive advertising. Our commitment to training and capacity building, creating new direction via our thought leadership work, reflects a culture of responsibility from the ground up.”
ASCI has made great progress in terms of its achievements and strategic initiatives during the year, reinforcing its commitment to the proactive work since the start of ASCI Academy. The Academy’s expansion is an important aspect of ASCI’s initiatives, and it is quickly becoming an active proponent of industry training and education. Since its inception, the Academy has expanded to encompass over 75 alliances and, through its training and education, successfully impacted 33,300 new and emerging professionals, firmly anchoring ethical principles deeply within the advertising community.
ASCI has also actively engaged in research and thought leadership through collaborative projects. Notable among these were partnerships with Khaitan & Co. on a white paper on the influence of generative AI on advertising, with the UN Women- led Unstereotype Alliance and lead research agency Kantar on D&I in India, as well as with Lexplosion for an in-depth understanding of privacy and data protection.”
In the past year, ASCI actively co-hosted and participated in several stakeholder and government consultations to address and discuss issues like dark patterns, green claims, and surrogate advertising.
ASCI updated and introduced new guidelines on an array of categories this year, including deceptive patterns, charitable cause marketing, and green claims ads, among others. These changes keep the ASCI Code current in the face of the changing industry dynamics and consumer expectations.
ASCI’s rigorous complaint redressal and monitoring operations this year included processing over 10,000 complaints and reviewing over 8,200 advertisements, affirming its role as a vigilant guardian of the advertising industry.
ASCI remains dedicated to advancing ethical, inclusive, and transparent advertising.
Brands
Acko CMO Ashish Mishra to exit in July
The digital insurer’s marketing chief, who helped build the brand over nearly five years, is heading for the exit.
Ashish Mishra is stepping down as chief marketing officer of Acko, with his departure confirmed for July. He remains in the role for now, and an official announcement from the company is expected shortly.
Mishra joined the digital insurance start-up in August 2020, making him one of the longer-serving marketing chiefs in India’s fintech and insurtech space. Over nearly five years, he played a central role in building Acko’s brand presence in the country’s fiercely competitive digital insurance market. More recently, he was closely associated with Acko Life’s Unmixed brand philosophy, a proposition built around pure protection products stripped of the investment components that have long complicated traditional insurance offerings in India.
Before Acko, Mishra spent over a decade at HSBC in a series of marketing leadership roles spanning the Middle East, including regional marketing manager for credit cards and advance propositions, brand and media manager, and marketing manager for retail banking. Earlier in his career, he worked on the agency side, serving as senior brand service manager at Lowe Lintas and as executive for brand communications at DDB Mudra Group.
His exit leaves Acko with a sizeable gap to fill at a time when the brand is pushing deeper into life insurance and doubling down on its direct-to-consumer positioning. Whoever takes the seat next will inherit a brand that Mishra spent five years building from the ground up. That is not nothing.
