President’s Message
ADS THAT DON’T LIE
Completing a little over a year, the Consumer Protection Act has been a godsend for the common man. The primary objective of the act is to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. Take the advertising industry, as an example, in just one month, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) investigated complaints against 334 advertisements, of which 106 were promptly withdrawn by the advertisers as soon as they received communication from ASCI.
The independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI upheld complaints against 190 advertisements, out of the 228 they evaluated. Of these 190 advertisements, 112 belonged to the education sector, 40 to the healthcare, 10 to personal care, seven to the food & beverages sector, 5 to the media/broadcasting sector, 5 from consumer durables and 11 were from the ‘others’ category.
Thanks to this act there is a sea change in advertising – bigger brands are moving towards ethically and socially conscious marketing as most of the new-age consumers expect brands to walk the talk. Additionally, it is a powerful way for big businesses to shape their brand and connect with consumers on a deeper level. At the same time, prominent brands can go berserk with their claims, particularly in keenly contested categories that are close to commodity. Over the last few years, we have seen that the highest incidences of misleading advertisements are in healthcare products & services (magic remedies) and the education sector.
Let’s hope that we see more honest and meaningful content that is accountable to the customer and not merely glib talk.
Framroze Mehta
President