ASCI upholds 121 complaints in May

[Thakur]

MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of
India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council
(CCC) upheld 121 complaints against 140
advertisements in May 2014.
Although the health and personal care category
continued to lead with the highest number of
complaints, the CCC also upheld complaints in
the entertainment, telecom and online sectors.
In the entertainment sector, Sarthak
Entertainment, which operates Sarthak TV, has
been pulled up for its advertisement claiming
to be the number one Odia channel. There is
no mention of the source or criteria based on
which the channel has claimed this position. In
the absence of comments from the advertiser,
the CCC concluded that the claim was not
substantiated and the source of this data was
not provided.
The online sector saw two advertisers pulled up
by the CCC. These included Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC)
for its ad claiming flat 50 per cent off on
Calvin Klein brand and Import Express India
for its ad of ‘Shop your world’ stating ‘Sign up
& get Rs 1000’.
Meanwhile. the IT and telecom space saw
complaints upheld against Idea Cellular for its
ad claiming that the genuineness of Pashmina
Shawl is confirmed when it passes through a
finger ring; MTNL Fiber Optics for its ad
claiming 100 MBPS Fiber Optics speed; and
Hathway Cable & Datacom for the pamphlet ad
of its broadband service claiming 50 MBPS for
Rs 599.
However, leading the list was health and
personal care where the CCC found claims in
health and personal care product or service
ads of 66 advertisers violating ASCI’s code.
Some of the health care products or services
ads also contravened provisions of the Drug &
Magic Remedies Act.
Some of the advertisers pulled up included Sun
Pharmaceutical, Dabur India Limited, Reckitt
Benckiser Healthcare India, Marico Ltd, Anjali
Mukherjee, Dr Batra’s Homeopathy Clinic,
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Heinz
India, L’Oreal India, VLCC Health Care Ltd,
Emami Ltd, Bajaj Corp and more.
In the education sector, print ads by 39
advertisers were upheld for violating ASCI
guidelines for advertising of educational
institutions.
The food and beverages category and insurance
and financial security sector had two
complaints each, while the consumer durables
category saw three complaints being upheld by
the CCC. One complaint each was upheld in the
auto and religion sector.
In technology, Cheil India was pulled up for its
ad of Samsung Galaxy Star Pro, while Apple
India was pulled up for its ad of iPhone 5S. http://www.televisionpost.com/media-agency/asci-upholds-121-complaints-in-may/