HUL CEO Rohit Jawa stresses the need for responsible advertising in the digital age

Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) newly appointed CEO Rohit Jawa, addressed the accelerating influence of digital advertising and, as a result, the ever-growing need for self-regulation, during his speech at the official unveiling of the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) Academy on 28 August 2023. 

The Academy is an effort from the ASCI to educate students, current and prospective marketers, and industry stakeholders on the principles of responsible advertising and to ensure that such principles should be ingrained from the conceptualisation stage of an advertisement. (edite

HUL is one of the over 50+ founding partners of the ASCI Academy.

He observed online sales are growing faster than traditional channels, and marketers and advertisers must stay aware of where consumers will be. 

“Today, advertising is no longer restricted to the written word or moving images. With consumers moving online and entering the world of A.I.; advertising has gone digital. Be it through digital ads, OTTs, metaverse, and even influencer marketing,” he remarkes. 

The CEO spoke about the need for responsible advertising and how “self-regulation ensures ads can continue to be honest, truthful, decent, safe, and fair, and that the need for self-regulation in advertising has become even more pronounced in the digital age.” 

He backed it up, citing the instance of greenwashing where brands claim they are doing good for the environment when they are, in fact, not. 

Jawa, signing off, reiterated the need for self-regulation because it will benefit everyone. “We realise nobody counts the number of ads you run, they just remember the impression you make.”