ASCI looks into 533 objectionable advertisements in March-April

During the months of March and April 2020, ASCI investigated complaints against 533 advertisements, of which 115 advertisements were promptly withdrawn by the advertisers on receipt of communication from ASCI. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) evaluated remaining 418 advertisements, of which complaints against 377 advertisements were upheld. Of these 377 advertisements, 187 belonged to the healthcare sector, 132 belonged to the education sector, 15 to the food & beverages sector, nine belonged to real estate sector, five to the personal care and the immigration sector each and 24 were from the ‘others’ category.

Around mid-March when Mumbai started its gradual Lockdown, ASCI adapted quickly to navigate through these difficult times. Not only did the team manage to stay the course with minimal disruption; but also launched a drive to act against misleading advertisements claiming prevention or cure against COVID-19. The Ministry of AYUSH sought help from the ASCI team to alert them about such advertisements. The ASCI team picked over 50 such COVID cure advertisements in April, notifying the advertisers to withdraw them forthwith within a week.  ASCI closely monitored Digital Media, Social Media handles and web-sites of the advertisers. Over 90 cases of potential violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies regulations were also flagged to the regulator. During this period, the CCC continued their meetings over video conferencing.

ASCI exercised the “Suspension Pending Investigation” (SPI) option against an extremely offensive advertisement of an online video app. The contents of the advertisement were extremely obscene and vulgar.  The advertiser issued an apology and internally banned all similar video content on their platform.

Among various complaints examined by the CCC, complaints against advertisement of a well-known brand was upheld as the depiction of a woman protagonist slapping the male protagonist was considered as normalizing violence.

Complaint against a famous skincare product claiming to provide “HD glow” to the face was considered to be misleading as the advertiser had used image enhancement effects. While the advertisement did not make any reference to “fairness” as a product benefit, the mention of the brand name being a trademark was missing in the advertisement.

ASCI continues to see advertisements featuring celebrities in violation of ASCI’s “Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising”. Two advertisements of a veteran celebrity couple were considered to be misleading as they suggested that one can consume unrestricted quantities of deep fried food items such as batatavada and samosa and yet not worry about fitness if a particular brand of edible oil is used. The advertisement undermined the importance of regular exercise and healthy lifestyle. A renowned sportswoman endorsed a honey brand that made misleading claim of “No added sugar”. A popular Bollywood actress endorsed a hair oil brand that promised nourishment of almonds in every drop of the oil and 3X vitamin E as compared to unbranded hair oils sold loose in the market.

The CCC observed that many liquor brand advertisements contravened ASCI's Guidelines for Qualification of Brand Extension Product or Service and hence were considered to be surrogate advertisements.

According to Rohit Gupta, Chairman, ASCI, “I am very proud of our ASCI team that has remained accessible and responsive to all stakeholders during this pandemic situation. Our Consumer Complaints Council has been very efficient as we continue to deliberate via video conferencing. We appreciate the cooperation being extended by the complainants as well as the advertisers to ensure self-regulation of advertising content by ensuring time bound compliance.”

DIRECT COMPLAINTS

The advertisements given below were complained against by the general public or by industry members. Of the 92 advertisements complained against, 28 advertisements were promptly withdrawn by the advertiser on receiving communication from ASCI. For the remaining 64 advertisements, complaints against 23 advertisements were upheld by the CCC. Two belonged to the Healthcare category, two belonged to education, food & beverage and personal care each. While, 15 advertisement belong ed to the others category. 41 advertisements were not considered to be objectionable or in contravention of the ASCI code.

Healthcare

Tulison Pharma (KasMadhu Herbal Cough Syrup): The television advertisement’s claim “For viral infections like cough, cold, sore throat, ayurvedic medicines are more effective than allopathic medicines”, was not substantiated with product efficacy data. The advertiser was promoting an ayurvedic/herbal cough syrup and claims that ayurvedic medicines are more effective than allopathic medicines in treating viral infections such as cough, cold. The advertiser did not provide any scientific rationale or technical data indicating that their ayurvedic product is better than allopathic products. In view of the current pandemic situation of COVID-19 virus, the CCC considered the advertisement to be misleading by gross exaggeration.

Kshetrapal Hospital Multispecialty & Research Centre: The print advertisement’s claim “The Best Neuro Centre of Ajmer”, was not substantiated with any verifiable comparative data of the advertiser’s hospital and other similar multispecialty hospitals in Ajmer, to prove that their neuro care centre is better than all the rest, or through a third-party validation. The advertisement also ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising

Food and Beverages

The Kute Group (Tirumalla Oil): The television advertisement’s claims as translated from Marathi, “I regularly eat savoury snacks of my liking” and “If you have Tirumalla oil in the house, then you don’t have to worry about fitness” endorsed by Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar were not substantiated. The advertisement undermines the importance of healthy lifestyle and is misleading regarding the nature of nutritive value of the advertised product. The advertisement implies that if one uses Tirumalla oil for daily cooking then they can regularly indulge in eating deep fried food (which generally is not considered advisable for health-conscious people) yet remain fit. The CCC also noted that the advertiser did not submit any product specific details and FSSAI approval for the claims being made in the TVC, if any, any scientific rationale or clinical evidence of special properties of the product, to prove that the cooking oil alone maintains fitness of a person regardless of the diet followed or lack of exercise etc.  The advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrity had done due diligence prior to endorsement, to ensure that all description, claims and comparisons made in the advertisement are capable of substantiation. The advertisement contravenes the Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising.

Rasna International Pvt. Ltd (Rasna Native Haat Honey): The print advertisement’s claim “No chemical”, “No preservatives” and “No added sugar” endorsed by Saina Nehwal were not substantiated. The advertiser did not submit any product specific details such as composition / pack artwork, nor evidence of absence of any chemicals, preservatives or any added sugar or any technical test report. Additionally, the advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrity had done due diligence prior to endorsement, to ensure that all description, claims and comparisons made in the advertisement are capable of substantiation. The advertisement contravened ASCI’s Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising.

Personal Care

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Fair and Lovely Advanced Multi Vitamin): The print advertisement showing image enhancement effects such as brightening / lightening to be misleading.  Regarding the complainant’s objection of the image being photo-shopped, the CCC observed that the advertiser admits that it is a common industry practice to make some minor enhancement of the image to improve the aesthetic appeal of the visual. However, the advertiser did not specify the nature or the extent of image touch up conducted by them. The advertiser further asserts that brightness and / or quality of the print is also dependent on the publisher, over which they have little or no control. Furthermore, the CCC noted that while the advertisement does not make any reference to “fairness” as a product benefit, the name of the product itself is “Fair and Lovely” which is without the mention of this being a trademark. The CCC is aware that post production image enhancements are used by the advertisers. However, these should not be used in a manner which suggests that the product delivers that specific performance. The advertisement is about a skincare product claiming that it would provide an “HD glow” to the face. The CCC considered the image enhancement effects such as brightening / lightening to be directly relevant to the claimed performance of the product. The advertiser had not included any disclaimers in the advertisement and the print advertisement was misleading by omission.

NAMYAA Natural Skincare (Namyaa Vaginal Tightening Gel): The Facebook advertisement’s claim “Naamya Vaginal Tightening Gel” is not substantiated and is misleading by gross exaggeration. The advertiser did not provide a copy of the product label, copy of product approval license, product composition details, any technical rationale for the product claim nor any product efficacy test reports.

Education

Complaints against advertisements of two educational institutes listed below are UPHELD because of unsubstantiated AND misleading claims.

Career Launcher (CAT Online Classes): The website advertisement’s claim, ““………1 out of every 4 enrolled students receiving an IIM call”, was not substantiated and misleading by exaggeration. The advertiser did not provide authentic supporting data such as batch size of students per year, detailed verifiable list of students who had received IIM call, evidence to support their enrolment, contact details of students for verification, nor was the claim backed by a CA certification or an independent third-party validation.

Law Prep Tutorial (CLAT Coaching): The website advertisement’s superlative claim, “Get the Best CLAT Coaching in India” was not substantiated with market survey data, or with verifiable comparative data of the advertiser’s coaching institute and other coaching institutes in India, to prove that they are better than all the rest in providing coaching for law entrance exams specifically CLAT to their students, or through an independent third party validation.

Others

Asian Paints Ltd. (Asian Paints Damp Proof): The YouTube advertisement’s depiction of a woman protagonist slapping the male protagonist was considered as normalizing violence. The CCC did not agree with the advertiser’s contention that the situation was depicted in a humorous manner. The CCC further observed that the woman’s face in the advertisement portrays anger, grimacing and is not light-hearted as asserted by the advertiser. The wife’s action results in the baby getting scared and starts to cry as well. The CCC did not agree with advertiser’s submission that the wife’s act was meant to catch the attention of the husband. It depicted a much more serious tone that not only was demeaning but also disrespectful.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (AJIO.com): The print advertisement promoting the “No ifs & buts sale” on their online shipping website (www.ajio.com) which offers a wide range of clothes, footwear and accessories by various brands was considered misleading. The advertisement contains two text captions (“Flat 60% off**” and “On 2, 00,000+ Styles**”) that are qualified with (**) and the text “**Terms & Conditions Apply”. The print advertisement contravened Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising.

SUO MOTU Surveillance by ASCI FOR MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS

The advertisements listed below were picked up through ASCI’s Suo Motu surveillance of Print and TV media through the National Advertisement Monitoring Services (NAMS) project. Out of 441 advertisements that were picked, in 87 cases the advertisers promptly confirmed that the advertisements were being withdrawn post receiving the ASCI communication. All other 354 advertisements examined by the CCC were found to be misleading. Of these 327 advertisements, 185  advertisements belonged to the Healthcare sector, 130 bel onged to the Education sector, 13 belon ged to the F&B category, Nine belonge d to Real Estate, Five to Visa/Immigration Services, Three belonged to the Personal Care category and Nine fell in the “Others” category.

Healthcare

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (Apollo Proton Cancer Centre): The print advertisement’s claim “Cancer is conquerable”, was misleading by omission. The CCC did not agree with the advertiser’s opinion as the word “conquer” is an affirmative sign that cancer can be overcome irrespective of the stages of cancer. The reference quoted by the advertiser itself states that “advances in technology for early diagnosis and early surgical treatment have elevated the cure rate of gastric cancers.”  The early diagnosis and early treatment are the key drivers for success.

ILasik House: The print advertisement’s claim “The Best Treatment for Cataract with World's Best Centurion Phaco Machine”, was not substantiated. The advertiser did not provide any worldwide data to prove that the Centurion Phaco machine used by them for Cataract treatment is the world’s best machine and the claim was also not backed by any independent third party validation.

The following advertisements violated ASCI’s Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions and Programs and Guidelines for claiming Awards / Rankings in Advertisements:

The Delhi Public School Society (Delhi Public School, Nashik): The print advertisement’s claim “British Council International School Award 2018-21”, was misleading by ambiguity and implication. The CCC observed that the support data copy of certificates provided were for “Outstanding Development of the International Dimension in the Curriculum” and for “Coordinating the Integration of International Learning in the Curriculum”. Furthermore, the certificate was for an accreditation and it was not an award as such. However, in the advertisement, the advertiser presents this as an award “British Council International School Award 2018-21”, which was a mismatch of the text used in the certificate versus the claim made in the advertisement.

Jodhamal Public School: The print advertisement’s claim “British Council International School Award 2019-2022”, was not substantiated. The advertiser did not provide any copy of the award certificate, details and references of the award received such as the category, the basis of the award or the survey methodology followed to obtain this information for the award claimed. The CCC expressed concern over the usage of an accreditation as an award and not mentioning what the accreditation was for in the advertisement.

Food and Beverages

Food and Beverages – Brand Extension. The following advertisements were considered to be surrogate advertisements for promotion of liquor brands and they were in contravention of ASCI's Guidelines for Qualification of Brand Extension Product or Service.

Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd (Seagram’s Blenders Pride Fashion Tour Music CDs): The print advertisements are surrogate advertisements for promotion of its liquor product – Seagram’s Blenders Pride. The advertisement displayed “Blender’s Pride”, the Seagrams logo, and the text “Music CDs” in small font. The CD pack contained the caption, “Taste life in style”. The CCC observed that although the advertiser submitted trademark registration for Blenders Pride Fashion Tour and Blenders Pride Fashion Nights, they did not submit the annual market sales data of the advertised product, proof of the in-store availability of the product being at least 10% of the leading brand in the category the product competes as measured in metro cities where the product is advertised, and a valid certificate from an independent organization for distribution and sales turnover. The names of 25 retail outlets was not considered as an acceptable evidence to support in store presence. Moreover, the advertiser in their own submission mention that to carry forward the well-established associations and perceptions attached to the Blenders Pride brand, attain business stability and generate increased revenues, the Company has introduced "Blenders Pride Fashion Tour" and "Blenders Pride" Music Compact Discs.

Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd (Jacob’s Creek Music CD): The advertisement depicting the Jacob’s Creek brand name and reference to music CDs, is a surrogate advertisement for promotion of its wine product - Jacob's Creek Wines. The advertisement displayed a logo of “Jacob’s Creek” with the text “Bring Your Australian” in a small font and the text “Music CDs” in a smaller font. Further, the CD pack design submitted by the advertiser read “Jacob’s Creek”, “Made True” and “Classically Chilled”. The advertiser did not have a registered trademark with respect to Music CDs. The CCC observed that the advertiser only provided photographic evidence of the availability of the CDs on Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal and a list of 19 retail outlets that sell the Music CDs. The names of 19 retail outlets was not considered as an acceptable evidence to support in store presence. The advertiser did not submit the annual market sales data of the advertised product advertised, proof of the in-store availability of the product being at least 10% of the leading brand in the category the product competes as measured in metro cities where the product is advertised, and a valid certificate from an independent organization for distribution and sales turnover. Moreover, the advertiser in their own submissions mention that to carry forward the well-established associations and perceptions attached to the brand, attain business stability and generate increased revenues, the “Jacob’s Creek” Music Compact Discs was introduced.

Food and Beverages

The Kute Group (Tirumalla Oil): The YouTube and television advertisement’s claim “Yeh khaane se Papa ke fitness par toh koi asar nahi hoga na? Nahin hoga.” “Tirumalla oil ho ghar mein, toh fitness ki chinta don’t worry!” endorsed by Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar were not substantiated. The advertisement suggests that there would be no adverse effect on the protagonist’s fitness even if he indulges in eating deep fried food items like samosa – which is a high carbohydrate / high calories food item. Further, the advertisement is silent about recommended portion sizes or about the importance of regular exercise and healthy lifestyle for fitness. The advertisement implies that if one uses Tirumalla oil for daily cooking then they can regularly indulge in eating deep fried food (which generally is not considered advisable for health-conscious people) and yet remain fit. The advertisement undermines the importance of healthy lifestyle and is misleading regarding the nature of nutritive value of the advertised product. The CCC noted that the advertiser did not submit any product specific details or FSSAI approval for the claims being made in the advertisement, nor any clinical evidence of special properties of the product, to prove that the cooking oil alone maintains fitness of a person regardless of the diet followed or lack of exercise etc. The advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrities had done due diligence prior to endorsement, to ensure that all description, claims and comparisons made in the advertisement are capable of substantiation. The advertisement contravenes the Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising and ASCI Guidelines on advertising of Food and Beverage products.

Gemini Edibles & Fats India Private Limited (GEF India) (Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil): The advertisement’s claim as translated from Hindi “Up to 70% Less Heart Attack Risk”, was inadequately substantiated. The CCC did not consider the advertiser’s questionnaire based study alone to be a reliable and robust claim support data to make a numerical disease risk reduction claim in absence of any actual product testing. Moreover, the study in itself cannot be used as a yardstick as consumers consume a wide variety of oils including blended oils, groundnut oil, coconut oil, olive oil etc. The conclusion of the study also states that the findings highlight the importance of diets rich in vegetables and α-linolenic acid in the prevention of IHD. However, more studies, including prospective investigations, are required to examine these associations further in India. The CCC also noted that the text in the super presented the word “Up to” in much smaller font. For the voiceover claim, “70% less Heart Attack Risk Means 100% Freedom” , the line is immediately followed by a brand jingle that says “Freedom to eat…Freedom to live”. The CCC did not agree with the advertiser’s contentions that “100% Freedom” does not imply cure. “100% Freedom” and “Freedom to eat” were also misleading by ambiguity and implication that one can eat without any restrictions. The CCC noted that the advertiser does not make these claims on their packaging. Furthermore, these claims were not as per the FSSAI’s guidance document regarding claim permitted for edible oils such as Mustard Oil with or without Erucic nor did the advertiser submit any evidence of FSSAI approval for these specific claims. The advertisement contravened ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising.

Real Estate – The advertisements also contravened ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising.

Singhania Buildcon Pvt Ltd. (Singhania Buildcon Group): The print and television advertisement’s claim “Chhattisgarh’s No.1 Real Estate Company”, was not substantiated with supporting ranking data. The advertiser did not support this claim with a copy of the award certificate, reference of the award received such as the category, the basis of the award such as the details of the process as to how the selection for the award was done, details of the criteria for granting the awards, survey methodology, parameters considered, questionnaires used, names of other real estate companies in Chhattisgarh that were part of the survey, the outcome of the survey, and the details about the awarding body.  The print advertisement contravened Guidelines for claiming Awards / Rankings in Advertisements.

Nanak Properties Pvt. Ltd. (Amarja Hills): The print advertisement’s claim “Best Second Home Project by Construction Times Builders Award 2016”, was not substantiated with supporting ranking data and is misleading. The print advertisement contravened ASCI Guidelines for Usage of Awards/Rankings in Advertisements.

Visa/Immigration

International Academy: The print advertisement’s claim “The most trusted global study-work migration consultants”, was not substantiated with market survey data, or with verifiable comparative data of the advertiser’s academy and other similar academies/migration consultants, to prove that they are most trusted than all the rest, nor the claim was backed by an independent third party validation. The source for the claim was not indicated in the advertisement.

Landmark Immigration Consultants Pvt. Ltd (Landmark Immigration): The print advertisement’s claim “Most Trusted Company in the Region”, was not substantiated with any verifiable comparative data of the advertiser’s company versus other similar immigration consultancy companies in Chandigarh, to prove that they are the more trusted than all the rest, or through a third-party validation. The print advertisement contravened ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising.

Others

The CCC found that the claims made in the following advertisements were misleading, exploit consumers’ lack of knowledge and can lead to widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers. The advertisements also contravened ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers in Advertising.   

Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd (Bajaj Almond Drops Hair Oil): The television advertisement’s claim featuring Bollywood Celebrity Parineeti Chopra, “Every Drop has the 3 Times Vitamin E Compared to Other Ordinary Oil” is misleading by ambiguity and implication. The CCC noted that the Vitamin E in the product was compared with unbranded oils (mustard and coconut).  In the narrow technical sense, the analytical report submitted does show a 3x or 300% content of Vitamin E in the impugned product as compared to the unbranded comparator oils, arising from the fact that there is added Vitamin E to the product. The `ordinary’ oils compared with are unbranded mustard and coconut oils. The voice over says `aam oil’ whereas disclaimer states `……unbranded hair oil……’. The CCC was of the opinion that `aam oil’ means an “ordinary” oil that may be devoid of any special properties / characteristic. It does not mean “unbranded oil”, as `unbranded oil’ is oil that is sold loose and not packed in bottles as packaged goods. However, there was a mismatch between the claim in the voice over (stating ordinary oil and visual showing a bottled oil) versus the disclaimer (referring to unbranded oil / oil sold loose). The second claim “Boond Boond mein Badam ka poshan” (Nourishment of Almonds in every drop) was inadequately substantiated. The CCC observed that the test reports from a third party lab showed small effects where statistical significance of these results become important for comparisons.  The most important test, namely the DP Cell Proliferation, did not show any statistical significance. In other tests, the significance of the effects exhibited are weak. The CCC also noticed that the product label does not disclose the exact percentage of almond oil present in the product but obfuscates it (to the point of being misleading) by claiming “mustard and almond oil 22%” whereas the document reveals that the composition has a low percentage of almond oil. The advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrity herself had done due diligence prior to endorsement, to ensure that all description, claims and comparisons made in the TVC are capable of substantiation. The advertisement contravened ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimer and Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising.

Mahalaxmi Enterprises (Majestic lady Anion Sanitary Napkins): The television advertisement’s claim “A Magnetic Strip That Saves from Bacterial Infection”, was not substantiated with any scientific rationale for the product benefit claimed.

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