Regulatory Body for advertising
“The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)“, established in 1985, is a self-regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry in IndiaIt is not a government body. ASC is dedicated to the idea of self-regulation in advertising, which would protect consumers’ interests. ASCI wants to make sure that ads follow its Code for Self-Regulation. This code says that ads must be legal, decent, honest, and truthful, and they can’t be dangerous or harmful while still being fair in competition. Print, TV, radio, billboards, SMS, emailers, the internet, product packaging, brochures, promotional materials, point-of-sale materials, and more are all things that ASCI looks into when people make complaints. Many parts of the government, like 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 praised ASCI’s work. Working together with these government groups is meant to help regulate and stop misleading and offensive ads in their own areas. In its ruling in January 2017, the Supreme Court of India also backed up and acknowledged the self-regulatory mechanism as a useful step toward statutory rules for controlling advertising content on Indian TV and radio. It is part of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICANN) (ICAS). A group called the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) gave ASCI two Gold Global Best Practice Awards for the mobile app “ASCIonline” (2016) and for cutting down on the time it takes to handle complaints (2013).
The Board of Governors, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), and its Secretariat make up ASCI’s team. The ASCI Board of Governors is made up of 16 people, with four from each of the key sectors: advertisers, advertising agencies, the media, and related fields like market research, consulting, business education, and so on. There are about 28 people in the CCC right now. Six are from the business world and eight are from the public sector, such as well-known doctors, lawyers, journalists, academics, consumer activists, and so on. If you file a complaint about an ad, the CCC will make a final decision. ASCI also has its own separate Secretariat, which is made up of 5 people and is led by the Secretary General.
There is no other non-government organisation in India that controls the ads that are shown there. If someone doesn’t like an ad that is shown in India, they can write to ASCI and make their case. The CCC will deliberate on this complaint after giving the advertiser a chance to defend the ad against it. If the ad is in line with the ASCI code and the law of the land, the complaint will be upheld or not. If it is upheld, the ad is voluntarily either taken down or changed.
The Indian government changed the Advertising Code in the Cable TV Network Rules in 2007. Now, ads that break the ASCI code can’t be shown on TV.
Self-Regulation
Almost every professional field has groups that oversee its own activities. For people in the advertising business, there was none until 1985. So, there was a lot of advertising that was not true, was offensive, or both. People lost faith in advertising because of this and started to dislike it. It was decided that if this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before advertising content was subject to legal restrictions like censorship.
The ASCI made a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising in 1985. With the code in place, the goal is to encourage fair competition in the advertising business and honest, decent ads. It will also protect the rights of consumers and everyone involved in the advertising business, including advertisers, media outlets, advertising agencies, and people who help make or place ads.
As more members of the fraternity follow the code, there will be fewer false claims, fewer unfair ads, and more respect for advertisers.
The need for ASCI
The consumer is the advertiser’s audience when he makes an ad. For advertisers, customer feedback is important because it lets them know if their message got through clearly. People need a group or council they can go to if they think an ad is offensive or not telling the truth about what it says. This group or council should then take any necessary action. ASCI is the best way to go because it is a self-regulatory body that controls advertising content. Its goal is to serve both advertisers and consumers.