2024’s adverse ads: Deepfakes, shockvertising, and ethical dilemmas

In 2024, the advertising industry has taken giant leaps forward, embracing cutting-edge tools such as artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, and even innovation of pause ads. Yet, despite these advancements, unethical advertising still linger, stirring up concerns about consumer exploitation, misinformation, and breach of trust.

From dubious claims to the controversial tactic of ‘shockvertising,’ brands are in a fierce battle for eyeballs in the age of bite-sized video content. Regrettably, this method has frequently tiptoed over ethical lines and left a rather sour aftertaste.

Take, for instance, actor and model Poonam Pandey, who decided to stage her own demise as a rather theatrical way to raise awareness about cervical cancer.

Collaborating with Hauterrfly, a women-focused media platform under Mumbai’s Fork Media Group, her stunt quickly backfired, as Schbang, the creative agency behind it, faced intense backlash for its controversial approach.

Similarly, YES Madam, a home salon services company, grabbed headlines when it claimed to have terminated 100 employees for being ‘stressed.’

Facing outrage online, later the company revealed that this was a campaign to highlight workplace stress—just another case of 'Shockvertising' making waves.

These examples highlight the fine line between clever advertising and ethical responsibility, a balancing act that many brands are still grappling with.

Coaching centres

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) recently imposed a hefty penalty of Rs 61.6 lakh on 19 coaching institutes for disseminating misleading advertisements.

The authority's draft guidelines identify practices such as falsely inflating success rates, exaggerating student achievements, or using urgency to provoke anxiety as misleading. 

Ads that solely credit coaching institutes for students' success without acknowledging individual effort are also considered deceptive.

The draft goes on to clarify that those individuals or entities engaged in coaching must refrain from making false claims, including guarantees of 100% selection, job placement, or admission, as well as promoting fake testimonials or reviews.

Deepfakes 

Deepfake videos are emerging as a source of entertainment on social media, often going viral with scenarios like random individuals kissing or someone singing. However, the implications go far beyond light-hearted amusement.

Billionaire Anant Ambani and Nita Ambani became unwitting participants in a deepfake controversy this year, with manipulated videos showing them endorsing a dubious gaming app. 

In the fabricated video, Anant Ambani guarantees outlandish returns, boasting about five times the winnings and double the losses, all wrapped up in a "special wedding celebration offer."

Similarly, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan filed an FIR against a deepfake video that suggests he is endorsing a political party, something he categorically denied.

In a creative twist on this growing concern, HDFC Bank turned to shockvertising with Nora Fatehi. At a time when celebrities are falling prey to deepfakes, Fatehi claimed her likeness had been used to promote brands without her consent. 

The revelation that this was a staged stunt aimed at raising awareness about deepfakes and financial fraud surprised audiences and sparked conversations about the technology’s potential for misuse.

Do Olympians have no image rights? 

In 2021, shuttler PV Sindhu, through her sports marketing agency Baseline Ventures, took 20 brands to court for the unauthorised use of her image after winning a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. 

In 2024 Indian brands disappointed once again. Baseline Ventures founder Tuhin Mishra called out Apollo Tyres for the unauthorised use of Indian hockey goalkeeper Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh’s image. The team won a bronze at the Paris Olympics this year. 

“You will go and pay crores of money to the legend of Indian cricket (Sachin Tendulkar) and to Manchester United, but guess you don’t even think for a second to use the imagery & name of probably one of the greatest hockey players of India without paying a single rupee,” he wrote on LinkedIn adding the agency would take all necessary action against the brand. 

Also, the Economic Times reported that brands using photos and videos of Indian Olympians without sponsoring them can face legal action.   

Celebrities safeguarding image rights 

One of the biggest disadvantages of the internet and social media for celebrities is the unrestricted use of their personality and imagery, and the rise in the use of generative artificial intelligence only worsens this issue.

Unsurprisingly, celebrities have begun approaching the courts to secure their image and personality rights. Some famous names include Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth. 

In 2024, Jackie Shroff moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights and successfully secured them. It means the actor now has control over how his name, voice, image, and unique characteristics are used in the media. 

Actor Anil Kapoor made it to Time Magazine’s 2024 list of 100 Most Influential People in AI following his landmark victory last year that secured his image and personality rights from artificial intelligence.