ASCI upheld complaints against 248 ads out of 408 ads; 137 other ads withdrawn

During the month of November 2019, ASCI investigated complaints against 408 advertisements, of which 137 advertisements were promptly withdrawn by the advertisers on receipt of communication from ASCI. The independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI evaluated 271 advertisements, of which complaints against 248 advertisements were upheld. Of these 248 advertisements, 159 belonged to the education sector, 44 belonged to the healthcare sector, eight to personal care, four to the food & beverages sector, and 33 were from the ‘others’ category.

While most of the advertisements were evaluated for making misleading claims, the CCC also upheld complaints against a couple of advertisements for encouraging disregard to safety. A TVC showing a pillion riding barber shaving a policeman in uniform on his way to work was considered to be inappropriate, contravening ASCI Guidelines for Advertisements depicting Automotive Vehicles. Complaint against a drama serial promo indicating the protagonist doing self-harm by stifling her neck with a cloth (duppata) was also upheld.

TVC for a popular pain relief gel claiming “#1 Doctor recommended active for acute pain relief” was considered to be misleading as the terminology “#1 Doctor recommended active” was ambiguous. It omitted a key word “ingredient”, which would be understood by general consumers. Visual presentation of a claim by a popular roll on deodorant product of dramatically changing dark underarms to fair in five days was considered to be misleading.

Several advertisements featuring celebrities were caught on the wrong foot for making misleading claims. Advertisement of a popular diagnostic company featured a Bollywood superstar who endorsed their claim of the diagnostic lab being “preferred by most doctors”, which was considered to be misleading by exaggeration and implication. One of India’s well known toothpaste manufacturers featuring another renowned Bollywood celebrity claimed that every other toothpaste containing calcium is cheating customers. The advertisement also denigrated the entire category of “calcium containing white” toothpastes, while implying superiority of their ayurvedic toothpaste. Advertisements featuring another legendary Indian cricketer were considered to be misleading for claims such as “No flicker” for a flicker control LED product and “25% faster charging & 25% extra backup” capacity for an inverter battery.

Shweta Purandare, Secretary-General, ASCI, remarked, “Consumers are exposed to a significant amount of advertisements on a daily basis. Children and youth are thereby greatly influenced not only for the product choices, but also by what is being depicted in the advertisements and celebrity endorsements. Responsible advertising means depicting safe practices and not encourage negligence. It is also the responsibility of Celebrities to check authenticity of the claims they endorse and serve their role of informed influencers.”

Education: 159 ads complained against

Direct Complaints (2 advertisements)
Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI (157 advertisements)

Healthcare: 44 advertisements complained against

Direct Complaints (2 advertisement)
Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI (42 advertisements)

Personal Care: 8 advertisements complained against

Direct Complaints (5 advertisements)
Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI (3 advertisements)

Food & Beverages: 4 advertisements complained against

Direct Complaints (2 advertisements)
Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI (2 advertisements)

Others: 33 advertisements complained against

Direct Complaints (11 advertisements)
Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI (22 advertisements)

Direct Complaints

The advertisements given below were complained against by the general public or by industry members. Of the 68 advertisements complained against, 23 advertisements were promptly withdrawn by the advertiser on receiving communication from ASCI. For the remaining 45 advertisements, complaints against 22 advertisements were upheld by the CCC. Five advertisements belonged to Personal Care, two from the Education sector, two from the F&B, two advertisements belonged to the Healthcare sector and 11 from the Others category. 23 advertisements were not considered to be objectionable or in contravention of the ASCI code.

Personal Care

Dabur Babool Ayurvedic Paste: The television and YouTube advertisement’s claim as translated from Hindi conveyed “Ordinary white toothpastes are cheating consumers (Choona lagana) every single day and there should be someone who can stop this cheating on the teeth and such cheating will now stop after using Dabur Babool Ayurvedic Toothpaste”. The advertisement featuring celebrity Ajay Devgn was considered misleading. The advertiser also did not provide any evidence showing that the celebrities had done due diligence prior to the endorsement, hence violating ASCI’s Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising as well.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Rexona Whitening Roll-On): The advertisements claim as translated from Bengali “Contain Vitamin B3 and glycerine which helps get rid of dark underarms in 5 days” was inadequately substantiated and misleading. The advertiser couldn’t provide any findings to prove that in 5 days dark skin becomes dramatically fair as depicted in the TVC, nor any improvement was conclusively proven by objective evaluation.

Anchor Health & Beauty Care (Anchor Germ Protection Soap): The advertisement’s claim, “Be 100% Protected” was inadequately substantiated and misleading. The claim is an absolute claim guaranteeing 100% protection which was not proven in in-use situation, as the user would expect the benefits in real use condition. The evidence provided was in-vitro test which is not indicating real life situation. The second claim “Tri-active Formula-a unique combination of 3 active ingredients that work extra hard to keep you and your family safe by fighting germs more effectively than any ordinarysoap” was not substantiated and is misleading by exaggeration.

Mooppan Priceless Herbs (Jatamansi & 26 herbs hair oil): The website advertisement’s claims, “World’s Best Hair Oil” and “most Genuine and Honest Hair treatment for preventing Hair fall, premature hair greying and helps to grow new hair buds even after your middle age!” were misleading by exaggeration and implication. There was no verifiable worldwide comparative data or market research data submitted, to prove that their hair oil is better than all the rest, or through an independent third party validation.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Pears Soap): The television advertisement’s voiceover claim, “Pears me hai 100 percent jyaadaa glycerine” and the claim “100% Zyaada Glyercin*” were misleading. The claim carries an asterisk (*) to qualify that ‘it is compared to Grade 1 soap’. The CCC noted that comparing glycerine content of the advertised product versus a non-glycerine containing soap is incorrect and violated ASCI Guidelines for Disclaimers.

Education

The following advertisements violated ASCI’s Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions and Programs.

Sorting Hat Technologies (Unacademy.com): The Facebook and website advertisement’s claim of “a success rate of CAT 99.99 percentile in verbal ability and reading comprehension for record 9 times” was misleading as the advertiser did not provide any data to support the claim.

Udaipur Institute of Hotel Management: The ad-brochure’s claim, “100% Guaranteed job placement on stamp paper* in Abroad & India”, was considered to be misleading as it was not substantiated with authentic supporting evidence.

Food & Beverage

Field Fresh Foods (A Bharti Enterprise) (Del Monte): The YouTube advertisement’s claim, “Whole Green Olives”, “Product of Spain” are misleading. The product packaging indicates that the table olives are packaged in Spain and are labelled as “Whole Green Olives”, “Product of Spain”. However a part of the footage shows handpicking of olives in Puglia, Italy, contradictory to the declarations on pack. The advertisement also violated the ASCI Guidelines for Food and Beverages in advertising.

Abbott Healthcare (Ensure): The television advertisement’s claim “Regain strength in 8 weeks” was misleading as the choice of the study as a source of the claim was considered to be incorrect and did not support the claim made in the advertisement. The target group shown in the advertisement is a physically exhausted normal individual returning from office while the referenced study was done with undernourished elderly subjects >65 years (mean age being ~76) and about to be discharged from hospital.

Healthcare

Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (India) (Moov Advance Diclofenac Gel): The advertisement’s claim “#1 Doctor recommended active for acute pain relief” was considered misleading. It was observed that the basis for claim is a certificate from IQVIA Consulting and Information Services which certifies that Diclofenac is the most prescribed molecule in IQVIA’s Topical Anti-rheumatics category for a 12-month period ending June 2019. The advertised product falls under the category of “OTC medicine” and products in this category are not necessarily sold via prescription route alone. The “most prescribed” claim does not necessarily mean “most recommended” product.

Vedistry (Moha 5 in 1 Hair Oil): The print advertisements claim “Prevents Premature Greying”, “Eliminates Dandruff” were inadequately substantiated.

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:

Livfast Batteries (Livfast Inverter and Battery), Orient Electric, Realme Mobile Telecommunications (India), Asian Paints (Asian Paints Royale Health Shield), Myntra.com, MakeMyTrip India, Girias Investment, LSD Films (Beyhadh Season 2), TV Today Network (India Today Television), Bajaj Auto (Bajaj Platina), Lenskart Solutions (Lenskart).

Suo Motu Surveillance by ASCI for misleading ads

Out of 340 advertisements that were picked up through ASCI’s Suo Motu surveillance of Print and TV media through the National Advertisement Monitoring Services (NAMS) project, 114 cases were resolved immediately, wherein the advertisers confirmed that the advertisements were being withdrawn post receiving the ASCI communication. All other 226 advertisements examined by the CCC were considered to be misleading. Of these 226 advertisements, 157 belonged to the Education sector, 42 advertisements belonged to the Healthcare sector, three belonged to the Personal Care category, two belonged to the F&B category and 22 fell in the “Others” category.