NS Rajan, director of August One Partners, who was recently named chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), has identified prevention and education on advertising violations as a key priority for the council. Rajan takes over from Subhash Kamath, former CEO of BBH India and Publicis Worldwide, who introduced guidelines in areas such as influencer marketing and portrayal of women in advertising.
Navigating the evolving landscape
Rajan notes that the advertising industry was estimated to be worth `70,000 crore in CY2021, growing at 18.5% annually. While digital advertising comprises a third of it, it is growing at twice the industry pace. “As advertising shifts to digital platforms, monitoring becomes difficult especially if you consider that some ads have a short lifespan, as little as a few hours or days,” says Rajan. The industry has also seen the emergence of new advertisers, including startups and D2C brands, whose approach to advertising and brand building is vastly different from traditional advertisers, which is where ASCI comes in with its focus on prevention of advertising violations.
The council’s recent complaints report that was released in June this year is reflective of the challenges presented by new categories and digital advertising formats. “Around 29% of the complaints were in the influencer space, and most of them in the cryptocurrency segment. So our focus will remain on the newer categories and on digital-led communication because that is where we are seeing possible compromise to consumer protection,” points out Manisha Kapoor, current CEO at ASCI. The body has also invested in tracking software equipped with artificial intelligence to identify content on digital platforms that are actually ads.
Focus on self-regulation
ASCI’s critics point out that while the council has taken noteworthy steps towards higher standards of advertising over the past couple of years, there is much more to be done on matters like surrogate advertising. There is however a difference between surrogate advertising and brand extensions as understood by law, counters Kapoor. “ASCI cannot flag an ad for a water or soda that bears the same name as an alcohol brand, since the law permits it. We have certain thresholds though, which state if a brand has enough sales volumes or evidence to suggest it has invested significantly to make the brand extension an independent business, then we will consider that product a legitimate brand extension. If it doesn’t fulfil these requirements, we consider advertising for such a product to be surrogate,” she explains.
With the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which recently introduced a host of advertising guidelines, there are concerns that ASCI may become redundant. Rajan asserts the two bodies are not at conflict with each other but are complementary.
He says, “We constantly engage with the ministry on matters such as fake reviews, endorsements, surrogate advertising and cryptocurrency. When it comes to serious offenders, the CCPA can take necessary steps, but as a self-regulatory body, we will continue to focus on voluntary compliance, prevention and awareness.”
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