ASCI looked into 6,527 complaints registered against 3,315 ads in 2020
The 3rd quarter of FY 2021 had a high impact and was an initiative-led quarter for ASCI. The initiatives focussed on guidances for the industry, consumer education and streamlining of processes for effective self-regulatory practices.
Industry focused initiatives for consumer protection
In October 2020, ASCI introduced the COVID-19 advisory for advertisers, to protect consumers from being misled during the pandemic. Soon after, in November 2020, ASCI introduced guidelines for online gaming for “real-money winnings”, to protect audiences from risks associated with games involving real money. The guidelines received much appreciation and backing from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Earlier in 2020, ASCI had also introduced guidelines for usage of awards/rankings in advertisements, by brands.
Early September, ASCI expanded its national Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) to add digital advertising to its suo motu screening; more than 3,000 digital platforms are being currently tracked. The ASCI brought in a thought leadership initiative; a study commissioned in partnership with the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and conducted by NielsenIQ called “The Trust in Advertising study: 2020” to get a pulse of the consumer in terms of advertising and their trust in it.
The initiatives drove a lot of conversations in the media, on social media and various other forums, which obviously drove consumer education and awareness. Another impact of the constant buzz on various channels was the increase in the number of complaints processed by ASCI in the quarter.
Analysis of complaints
Between October and December, the ASCI team looked into 1,885 complaints originating from 1,230 advertisements. On receipt of communication from ASCI, 251 of these advertisements were withdrawn/ amended by the advertisers. From the remaining advertisements, ASCI’s independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 902 advertisements – 582 were from the education sector, 128 from healthcare, 64 from food and beverages, 25 from personal care, 99 from other categories and 4 that amounted to surrogate advertising; complaints against 77 advertisements were not upheld as these advertisements were not found to be in violation of the ASCI code.
Some of the themes that emerged during the quarter October-December were: education (job guarantees, placements, etc.) and healthcare (false claims about COVID-19 cures and preventions) advertising. Other complaints included those against brands issuing comparative advertisements while prominent cases against honey brands were also in the spotlight. During the third quarter, complaints regarding surrogate advertising also picked up post the IPL.
Recap of 2020 complaints numbers
Overall, in 2020, ASCI looked into 6,527 complaints that were registered against 3,315 advertisements, of which 2,357 were upheld. Education (1062) and healthcare (827) topped the list for the year as well. Some of the numbers for other categories, 117 food and beverage advertisements were complained, 63 against personal care, 17 violations of guidelines for brand extension, 22 against real estate, 10 against visa and immigration services and 239 against ads from other categories.
Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, ASCI, commented, “The third quarter of the financial year involved initiatives leading to positive impact on the industry and stakeholders. The quarter recorded the highest numbers in terms of complaints processing, compared to the previous two quarters which were a direct outcome of the pandemic. We hope to continue this momentum in the year ahead.”
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