No clinical evidence to Patanjali's Kesh Kanti ad claims: ASCI

Patanjali Ayurved's advertisement for its hair oil product Kesh Kanti has been found to be misleading by advertising industry watchdog ASCI, which has ruled that the company failed to provide any clinical evidence for the claims made in the ad campaign.
The Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) has also upheld complaints against 37 other advertising campaigns by various companies including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Flipkart, Myntra, Bajaj Auto, Nissan Motor and IndiGo Airlines for misleading the consumers.
About Haridwar-based Patanjali Ayurved, ASCI said the company in its advertisement for Kesh Kanti hair oil could not substantiate with "clinical evidence" the claims that the product treats "split-ends, greying and hair fall".

As per the decisions taken by the Customer Complaints Council of ASCI, 19 of the upheld complaints were relating to misleading advertisements in healthcare category, five in telecom and broadband sector and 4 in personal care category.
Three complaints have been upheld against leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel for promotions of 4G services, while one was against Idea Cellular.
ASCI ruled that the claim under "Airtel-4G-My Plan Infinity" was misleading as it was not completely unlimited.

"It was concluded that the claim of "unlimited calls" is not substantiated and is misleading," the ad regulator said.
Similarly, in case of Idea Cellular, it has found that "the claim in the advertisement -- 'except for Idea no other service provider can give you connectivity from Patna to Pune' -- is false, not substantiated and is misleading".

The Council also ruled that e-commerce major Flipkart was distorting the facts by offering discounts on 'Tek-Tron Velroc Safety Outdoor Shoes' on increased price.
"The website communication claiming the MRP of the product as Rs 599, when actually the printed MRP on product is the same as being offered as the discounted price of Rs 499, distorts facts and is therefore misleading the consumers as to the actual discount being offered," ASCI said.
It also found Myntra's claim, offering 35 per cent extra discount "misleading by omission" as it was not substantiated.
Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto was also pulled up for showing stunts in its TVC although it was performed by experts under a controlled environment and not on the road and the TVC also carries a disclaimer/cautionary message about stunts.

"But it was concluded that the Supers in the TVC were not prominent enough. Therefore, the advertisement is a stunt is not being conveyed clearly," said ASCI.
Low-cost carrier IndiGo also could not provide "credible evidence" to substantiate its claim about "lowest cost structures in the world" and "best low cost airline in central Asia and India six years in a row at SkyTrax World Airline Awards" with "Operational reliability of 99.95 per cent".
It also found Nissan Motor claim for its multi-purpose vehicle 'Datsun Go NXT' as false and misleading.
"The promotional offer claimed in the advertisement, "Free first year Insurance", is false and misleading by omission as it does not qualify the car variants for which this benefit is not applicable," it said.