ASCI upholds 82 of 124 complaints in April

The Advertising Standard Council of India's Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), a self-regulatory industry body, announced the number of complaints it upheld in April 2014. Of the 124 advertising complaints received, CCC found 82 ads guilty of violating the code prescribed by ASCI.

Amongst the ads upheld were those of HUL's Axe Extra Strong. The TVC showed indecent depiction of women, which is "likely in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency to cause grave or widespread offence".

The other ads that were upheld in the category included Nihar Naturals Shanti Amla from Marico, Oriflame Optimal White, and Godrej Expert Rich Crème Hair Color. CCC felt that the brand's claims like the "best ever hair color" were not substantiated with supporting data.

In the education category, the CCC found that claims in print advertisements by 21 advertisers were not substantiated and, thus, violated the ASCI Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions. All the complaints against the ads were upheld. They included ads from the International Management Institute (IMI) as the advertisement claimed that IMI is ranked No. 2 among private institutions.

The other ads that were upheld in the category included that from Bharath University, Times Centre for Learning, Institute of Financial Banking and Punjab University. The ads were seen making tall claims - some even offered money back guarantee scheme.

In the Food and Beverages category, the ads from Pink Papaya Foods and Rajguru Global's Ret Shrila Mahal Basmati were upheld. Adani Wilmar's advertisement of Fortune Rice Bran Health was also upheld as it shows a kid talking about how her dad is the healthiest. The CCC concluded that the disclaimers/supers in the TVC, were not legible and that the ad contravened ASCI guidelines.

Meanwhile, Naga Bubbly Bubbly Maida shows that consuming maida would make young children energetic and bright. In the absence of comments from the advertiser, the CCC concluded that the claims in the TVC were not substantiated.

The other ads that were upheld were of Life Insurance Corporation, Ascent Meditech (Flamingo Orthopaedic ad), Vimal Pan Masala, Tata Sky Karaoke Application, Jasper Infotech (Snapdeal.com), ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Docomo, Lux's Onn Premium Wear ad and Godrej Locks ad.

For the record, ASCI and CCC deal with complaints received from consumers and industry, against advertisements which are considered false, misleading, indecent, illegal, leading to unsafe practices or unfair to competition and, consequently, in contravention of the ASCI Code for self-regulation in advertising.