WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE NAME OF ADVERTISEMENTS?

 

Advertising is a medium of selling art, through which visual and audio information is provided to the consumers to make them think, agree, act, or behave according to the will of the advertiser. Advertisements often make a large impact in their small structure. Today, advertisement has become an important part of our life. If a fact is repeated over and over again, it becomes true - this idea is the basic element of advertising. They are an important tool for marketing.

To some extent, we can say, advertisements provide true information to the viewers. For example, when any item comes into the market, information about its form-color-structure and quality is provided through advertisements. The aim is to educate the consumer, help them make a view and analyze the need of it. Ads also draw our attention towards right and wrong. As far as consumer goods are concerned, the basic objective of advertisements is to leave an impression on the subconscious mind of the consumers. Overall, advertising is necessary for us. 

But, in the current times, things that are happening in the name of advertisement are a sham. The fact, which is being spread through advertisements, is far beyond the truth. Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about fake advertisements on TV. Complaints are being registered on a large scale regarding digital ads. Fake, false, and hollow claims are being found in the content of Influencers. Food and beverages are being falsely promoted. There is also no truth to the claims in healthcare advertisements. A lot of people have raised objection to the ads making false claims in the education sector as well.

Action Taken By ASCI

Everyone knows that the Advertising and Standards Council of India is the body that monitors advertisements. However, numerous ads violate ASCI’s code frequently. The advertising standards council of India (ASCI) has published its half-yearly complaint report, according to which the maximum number of complaints - 55% - have come to the organization regarding digital advertising. Thirty-Nine percent of the complaints have come to the notice of print and 5% of the complaints are related to TV ads. The ASCI reports that 97.7% of the complaints revolve around ad claims that were false and misleading to the consumer. The report also says that the maximum objection was found in the ads of the education sector. From the revelations in the latest report, it is known that not giving the correct photo was the biggest problem. 

According to the data, ASCI processed 2,764 ads and found that 14% of the ad claims in the personal care sector are hollow, while 13% of the ads in healthcare have no truth in their claims. It was also revealed during the process that 34% of influencers were promoting personal care content incorrectly, while 17% were promoting food and beverages. Similarly, influencer content was found to be incorrect in Digital Assets 10%, E-commerce 9%, Fashion & Lifestyle 7%, Gaming 5%, Services 3%, Durables 2%, Finance 2%, and Education 2%. Thirteen percent of people called the advertising content of Food and Beverages false.

Action Taken by CCPA

The CCPA was set up under the Consumer Protection Act, of 2019. CCPA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh each on Glaxo Smith Kline and Naaptol for misleading advertisements of their products. These are among the five cases where the CCPA has imposed penalties on entities for issuing misleading advertisements with false claims and adopting unfair means to misguide consumers.

Apart from this, the authority has issued 85 notices till date, against misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices, out of which 38 cases are related to misleading advertisements. After the notices were issued, 14 companies withdrew their advertisements and three companies agreed to correct their advertisement.

In my opinion, ASCI’s courage to speak the truth and CCPA's action are indeed not only revolutionary acts but also commendable. By taking timely action, both the departments have been trying to give correct information to the public, which the public was unaware of. This further develops a healthy and powerful methodology in the advertisement sector. Also, truth always brings revolutionary changes. However, they need more legal powers to uphold the values of legitimacy in the matter of advertisement.

Important to Read and Understand Food Labels

Advertising is the most influential and powerful medium in the present commercial society because it shapes the attitude and beliefs of the consumers, especially children. Consumers are exposed to the selling messages of advertisers through television. They spend their money on the bundle of products that give them hope and pleasure. Many people feel that what is told about the product through advertisement is true and if they use this product then their health, their mood will be good. They do not verify or try to find out about the nutrition factors and other important aspects of the product. 

Of late, many news channels have been making these disclosures and are alerting people to be cautious. Every consumer should carefully read the information given on food packets or any other product, before buying and using it. Reading the ingredient list helps you understand the amount of saturated fat, added salt, or added sugars used in producing the food item. You can skip buying a product in case you find any ingredient which can be a potential danger to your health. 

 

Similarly, it shows you some key nutrients that impact your health. You can use the label to support your personal dietary needs. Besides, we need to focus on those products and especially those products that are consumed most often and in the largest quantities. Hence, we must read the instructions, analyze and find whether the product we are using time and again is beneficial for our health or not.

 

Though, it is very clear that the Advertisement Standards Council of India (hereinafter, “ASCI”) was established in the year 1985 under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. The main purpose of this body is to put a curb on this practice of unfair advertising. The view with which the ASCI was formed is that all advertising activities in India must be legal, truthful, decent, honest, with a sense of social responsibility, and in line with fair competitive conditions. Currently, there are similar self-regulatory bodies in over 70 countries of the world, including India, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Germany. 

                                            Stay alert and stay away from deceitful ads!

A culture of responsibility is a must

It is well-known that ASCI is not empowered legally, and thus they are not able to deal with huge number of complaints. I believe that there is a need for strong legal backing to prevent such malpractices so that the law can be more focused and bring greater clarity to the role of ASCI to deal with complaints more efficiently. Sometimes, complicated cases are referred to the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). The problem are solved but not completely. 

Therefore, it is most important that all advertisers, advertising content creators, and marketing agencies  be compelled to adhere to a rule book that sets out the parameters for every advertisement campaign. This rule book should comprise the necessary provisions for ensuring conformity with the law as well as standardizing positions as per the guidelines of ASCI. 

More importantly, brands and their owners must adopt a culture of responsibility as well as accountability. It is expected of them to share correct and accurate information to the public. For this, their assigned works need sincerity and honesty. It will obviously lead them to the set track of achievement in serving the public. But, to what extent will the brands be honest in their attitude, only time will speak.