ASCI processed over 6,000 complaints against misleading ads in 2020

India’s adland regulator, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has said it processed 6527 complaints against 3,315 advertisements of which 2,357 were upheld last year (2020).

Topping the list was the education sector (1,062) followed by healthcare (827), food and beverages (117), 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.

Between October and December in 2020, the ASCI team looked into 1885 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 On receipt of communication from ASCI, 251 of these advertisements were withdrawn/ amended by the advertisers.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.

“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,” said Manisha Kapoor, Secretary-General, ASCI