Ad regulatory body upheld complaints against 105 ‘misleading’ campaigns

NEW DELHI: Advertising industry watchdog Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) upheld complaints against 105 campaigns in October for misleading ads, including those by Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, Philips, Procter & Gamble and e-commerce firms as Snapdeal, flipkart, goibibo.

Out of the 105 campaigns that were found violating norms, 44 belonged to personal and healthcare category and was followed by the education category with 43 advertisements, the ASCI said in a statement.

The Customer Complaints Council (CCC) concluded Mahindra & Mahindra has violated guideline and its ad campaign for its utility vehicle Bolero Maxitruck Plus.

“The advertisement claims that a new Bolero Maxitruck Plus is stronger than three ‘chota hatti’ (baby elephant). The comparisons made in the advertisement were not substantiated, and were likely to mislead the consumers about the product advertised and ones with which it is compared,” ASCI said.

It has also pulled up e-tailers as flipkart, goibibo for misleading the general public by not properly mentioning about the discount.

CCC had found flipkart’s ad claiming flat 90% off as “misleading as the TVC did not mention that the offer is on limited stock”.

A complaint against TV ad of Snapdeal was also upheld for making “derogatory reference to women” in its campaign. “In this advertisement a boy is telling the audience that my girlfriend’s sister is very cute. When we go outside she always come with us, absolutely free. Just like Snapdeal Diwali bumper sale in which a product is absolutely free with another. The TVC makes a derogatory reference to women and refers to women as a commodity,” CCC said.

A COMPLAINT AGAINST TV AD OF SNAPDEAL WAS ALSO UPHELD FOR MAKING “DEROGATORY REFERENCE TO WOMEN” IN ITS CAMPAIGN