MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) processed 1,064 complaints against advertisements in the January-March quarter. Of these, 200 ads were withdrawn by advertisers on receiving intimation from the industry body. Of the remaining 862 that required further investigation, the self-regulatory body’s independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 789 advertisements.
Education remains on top of the category of violations leaderboard with 337 cases, followed by healthcare with 250 cases, as per the latest complaints report released by ASCI for Q1 2021. A large number of complaints were also processed from the online gaming, food and beverages, and electronics & durables categories this quarter.
The maximum number of complaints processed- 337 –from the education sector- were related to misleading claims where students were promised 100 per cent placements or of the advertiser claiming to be India’s top-ranked college/ institute.
Expectedly, in healthcare, the majority of the 250 complaints against ads were mostly about fake claims of COVID cures or prevention.
To make the online gaming space safer, the industry body had introduced guidelines for the e-gaming segment for Real Money Winnings last December. Subsequently, ASCI received 61 complaints mostly related to cricket gaming and rummy, including those against established brands.
There were 47 complaints processed against food and beverage ads, many of them against claims around milk, milk products, bread, green tea, fish oil, as well as edible oils like sunflower.
In the electronics, durable, and construction category, ASCI processed 32 complaints against ads across a range of brands, from air-conditioners to paints. The automotive category received 14 complaints, many of them related to two-wheelers as well as e-rickshaw advertisements.
Complaints against 73 advertisements were not upheld as they were found to be adhering to the ASCI code.
Consumer vigilance around gaming has increased after the release of related guidelines, noted ASCI secretary-general, Manisha Kapoor.
“ASCI is working on more initiatives to ensure that advertising remains honest and decent and that consumers’ confidence in advertising is sustained. We also aim to raise consumer awareness to motivate them to report misleading claims. This would help safeguard their interests and encourage ethical advertising that benefits not just consumers but also honest advertisers”, Kapoor added.
