MAM
Asian Paints’ new video campaign takes homeowners to the ‘Next Level’
Mumbai: Everyone wishes to have a home of their dreams. However, not everyone knows the right way to actualise this long-cherished dream. Asian Paints’ beautiful homes service bridges the gap with an exclusive interior design service curated to address the challenges homeowners face in bringing their unique vision to life. To raise awareness about the distinctive home design solutions offered, Asian Paints has launched a new digital campaign for their Beautiful Homes Service that chronicles the journey of a young couple pursuing interiors for their dream home.
The ad film resonates with homeowners embarking on a journey to elevate their home interiors to the ‘Next Level.’ It opens with a young couple engaging in a conversation with a Beautiful Homes Services Consultant, sharing slyly taken photographs of kitchens, rooms and living areas of the homes of their friends and relatives. Their aspiration is to draw inspiration from these spaces to create a one-of-a-kind home of their own. This relatable scenario is humorously portrayed, shedding light on the universal desire for distinctive homes. The consultant’s continuous nodding throughout the conversation ends with an amused look upon seeing the pictures, remarking that it’s unnecessary for creating a home that perfectly aligns with their preferences.
Leveraging its deep understanding of homeowners’ preferences, the video then shows a diverse selection of products ranging from modular kitchen to furniture, furnishings, and lighting that Asian Paints Beautiful Homes Service offers. It drives the message on how the service empowers homeowners to explore designs that go beyond the standardized options. The digital commercial concludes with the couple content with their tastefully decorated and functional home, tailored to their needs. They playfully observe their neighbours discreetly taking pictures of the couple’s home, reflecting on the initial inspiration they sought.
Beautiful Homes Service from the house of Asian Paints, known for its expertise in turning living spaces into personalized havens, advocates for homes that align with the homeowners’ unique aesthetic and practical needs, rejecting the notion of mere replica of someone else’s home. What sets this service apart is its flexibility; it caters to homeowners’ needs, whether the renovation is focused on a single room or a specific area of the house.
Beautiful Home Service is an all-inclusive solution for homeowners, covering everything from planning to execution, timely delivery, and warranty. It is designed to comprehend each consumer’s vision and create spaces that harmonize with their distinctive style, guaranteeing that every home becomes a genuine embodiment of its owner’s individuality.
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.
