Asci

Realty most violative sector on problematic advertising in Apr-Sep: Report

The real estate sector has emerged as the most violative segment in advertising during the first half of FY25, accounting for over a third of the problematic campaigns, a report said on Tuesday. The report by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) said the self-regulatory body received 4,016 complaints during the first half, of which 3,031 were investigated and 98 per cent of them needed some modification. From a media perspective, digital platforms contributed to 2,830 or 93 per cent of the ads processed by the body. When it comes to violations of the code, the real estate sector is followed by illegal betting at 29 per cent, healthcare at 8 per cent, personal care at 7 per cent, and food and beverages at 6 per cent. The body reviewed 2,115 ads from the realty sector, of which 1,027 were processed for potential violations of the MahaRERA Act, an official statement said. On the illegal betting front, the body said 890 ads were flagged to the Ministry of Information and

Govt eyes crackdown on ecommerce dark patterns amid festive shopping season

In December last year, the Consumer Affairs Ministry introduced rules defining 13 dark patterns in ecommerce, classifying them as violations of consumer protection laws

Asci's new Chairman Partha Sinha wants to expand the council's footprint

Sinha wants to deploy AI to monitor errant advertising, and ensure that creativity and responsibility coexist

52 of 53 top apps in India use 'dark patterns', says ASCI study

The report said that ethical design alternatives and choice architecture in apps should be introduced to bring down such cases

Centre limits self-declaration certificate for ads of food, health sectors

It also announced that the facility for uploading the certificate by advertisers/advertising agencies for TV and radio ads has been made operational on the Broadcast Seva Portal

Withhold ads without self-declaration certificate from June 18-July 9: ASCI

The ASCI has asked advertisers and broadcasters to avoid releasing advertisements between June 18 and July 9 until the SC provides clarity on the self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandate

Healthcare sector most violative of advertisement rules, says Asci report

For the first time, the baby care sector has made it to the list of top 10 violators owing to influencers promoting products and services without disclosing material connections

LGBTQI, disabled persons feature in below 1% of campaigns: Report

Cultural diversity is missing from the country's advertising, a report by the industry's self-regulatory body ASCI and a UN body said on Tuesday. The report said that less than one per cent of promotional campaigns feature persons belonging to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community as well as disabled, while only 4 per cent campaigns show people aged above 65. The study by Kantar on behalf of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and UN Women Convened Unstereotype Alliance scrutinised over 261 ads in 13 languages, and mapped them on dimensions of age, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, physical appearance, social class, disabilities, and religion. "Ads that are stuck in stereotypical depictions are missing a trick in connecting with India's diverse consumer base," ASCI's chief executive and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, adding progressive advertising works better for society and for brands. With 45 per cent of ...

Asci bats for 'privacy by design' to reduce need to take consent from users

Asci said that before the final data protection rules in India are notified, advertisement companies must also undertake data audits to check their preparedness

Stringent action if surrogate ad rules not followed: Consumer Affairs secy

Rohit Kumar Singh said that there is a pressing need to halt the proliferation of surrogate ads across industries in India

Tata Power-DDL, ASCI partner for skill training in power, renewable energy

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL) is a 51:49 per cent joint venture between Tata Power and the Government of NCT of Delhi. The power discom supplies electricity to 7 mn households

Govt finalises draft guidelines to prevent cos from false pro-green claims

The government has finalised draft guidelines to prevent 'greenwashing' or false pro-environment claims being made by companies across sectors, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Thursday. The draft guidelines were finalised after discussions with the committee members in a meeting held on January 10. The committee constituted by the consumer affairs ministry also has member representatives from the industry such as FICCI, CII, Manufacturers Association Information Technology (MAIT), Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and Indian Beauty and Hygiene Association (IBHA). "We have finalised the draft guidelines and will issue the final guidelines after incorporating few suggestions of the industry members," Singh told PTI. The draft guidelines clearly define "Greenwashing" and "Environment claims". It also proposes disclosures that would be required to be made by the company while making green claims, said a statement issued by the ministry. The guidelines

NYT vs OpenAI: Is the Indian legal system equipped to handle such cases?

The New York Times has sued OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, and Microsoft for copyright infringement. If such cases arise in India, is the country ready to handle them? Here's what experts suggest

Are regulators finally waking up to surrogates?

After a prolonged wait, ASCI has taken action to regulate surrogate ads, but it may be insufficient to rein in a complex advertising ecosystem

Asci updates guidelines for qualification of brand extension advertisements

The new guidelines specify that any variants launched under the brand extension will not be considered a fresh extension

Nearly half of Indian consumers want more diversity in ads, shows study

48% of Indians have expressed the need for more inclusive representation by brands, according to a UN-supported study on diversity and inclusion in the advertising sector

Healthcare advertisements most violative in H1FY24, shows Asci report

Influencer cases made up 22% of the ads processed by Asci. The list of non-compliant cases included actor Amitabh Bachchan, who violated the code on eight counts

ASCI finds healthcare most violative sector in advertising: Report

Among the complaints processed by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), 99.4% of influencer advertisements were found in violation

ASCI proposes various guidelines to avoid 'greenwashing' by companies

Advertising industry's self-regulatory body ASCI on Thursday proposed various guidelines to avoid 'greenwashing' by companies. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has come out with a 9-point draft in this regard. In a statement, ASCI said the guidelines are aimed to check greenwashing, which it defined as the deceptive practice of making misleading environmental claims. The body's chief executive and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said the guidelines aim to foster a culture of transparency and authenticity in advertising in consumer interest and help them make informed decisions. Environmental claims can appear in advertisements, marketing material, branding (including business and trading names), on packaging or in other information provided to consumers, it said. The proposed guidelines say any absolute claims like a product has no impact or only a positive impact needs to be supported by a high-level of substantiation. Comparative claims such as "greener" or ..

Sandeep Goyal writes open letter to Asci ahead of cricket World Cup 2023

Goyal asked Asci to 'stay vigilant' with respect to surrogate advertisement in the upcoming cricket World Cup 2023