Regulatory Body for advertising
Founded in 1985, “The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)” is a voluntary self-regulatory body for the Indian advertising sector. It is not a government agency. In order to protect consumer interests, ASCI is dedicated to the cause of self-regulation in advertising. ASCI works to guarantee that advertising abide by its Code for Self-Regulation, which stipulates that they must be ethical, respectable, honest, and true, not dangerous or destructive, and adhere to fair competition.
ASCI investigates complaints from ALL MEDIA, including print, television, radio, billboards, SMS, emails, websites, product packaging, brochures, and point-of-sale materials, among others. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Ministry of AYUSH, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have all praised the work that ASCI has done. The collaboration with these governmental organisations aims to co-regulate and stifle deceptive and offensive advertising in the relevant industries.
The self-regulatory system was also validated and acknowledged by the Supreme Court of India in its ruling from January 2017 as an effective preventative measure to legislative requirements in the area of regulating advertising material for TV and radio in India. ASCI is a member of the International Council on Ad Self-Executive Regulation’s Committee (ICAS). For the mobile app “ASCIonline” (2016) and for lowering the amount of time it takes to resolve complaints, ASCI received two Gold Global Best Practice Awards from the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), among other honours (2013).
Members
The Board of Governors, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), and its Secretariat make up ASCI’s personnel. The Board of Governors of ASCI is comprised of 16 members, with four members representing each of the major industries, including advertisers, advertising agencies, media, and related fields like market research, consulting, business education, etc. The CCC now includes roughly 28 members: 6 from the business community and 8 from civil society, including well-known medical professionals, attorneys, journalists, academics, consumer advocates, etc. The CCC’s decision regarding any complaint over an advertisement is final. Additionally, ASCI has a 5-person independent Secretariat that reports to the Secretary General.
There isn’t another non-governmental organisation in India that controls the advertising material that is broadcast there. One may protest in writing to ASCI if they find an advertisement that has been published in India to be unpleasant. The CCC will consider this complaint after giving the advertiser a fair chance to respond. Depending on whether the ad complies with ASCI guidelines and local laws, the CCC will decide whether to uphold the complaint or not, at which point the advertiser will have the option of voluntarily withdrawing or changing the ad.
The Government of India modified the Cable TV Network Rules’ Advertising Code in 2007, prohibiting the airing of advertisements that breach ASCI code.
Self-Regulation
Almost all professions have self-regulatory organisations that oversee their operations. There was none for the advertising fraternity until 1985. As a result, there was a lot of deceptive, offensive, and fraudulent advertising. As a result, people began to dislike advertising and lose trust in it. It was agreed that if this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before legal restrictions, like censorship, were placed on the content of advertisements.
An ASCI Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising was adopted in 1985. The code’s introduction aims to encourage good and truthful advertising as well as fair competition in the market. Additionally, it will guarantee the protection of consumer interests as well as those of other parties involved in the advertising sector, including media, advertisers, advertising agencies, and those that assist in the design or placement of commercials.
There will be less bogus claims, fewer unfair marketing, and more respect for advertisers as the fraternity begins to adhere to the code.
Required ASCI
The target audience of an advertiser’s advertisement is the customer. The marketer needs customer feedback to see if his message has been effectively communicated. Consumers require a committee or council to whom they may voice their complaints and who will take the necessary action if they believe that a specific advertising is offensive or dishonest in its claims. The best platform for regulating advertising content is ASCI, which serves both consumers and advertisers as a self-regulatory agency.