NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 5:
Advertisements of brands across categories such as Flipkart, Uber, Snapdeal, Vodafone India, Heinz India, L’oreal India, Pernod Ricard India, and Amity University have been found either to be misleading consumers or making unsubstantiated claims or not adhering to the Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) code.
The Consumer Complaints Council of ASCI has upheld complaints against 82 advertisements in June. In a statement ASCI said that it upheld complaints against 82 out of 148 advertisements against which complaints were received.
Out of 148 advertisements against which complaints were upheld, 26 belonged to the personal and healthcare category, followed by 22 in the education category, nine in food and beverage category, seven in media and entertainment category and 18 from other categories, it said.
The Council has upheld two complaints against e-commerce firm Flipkart for claiming that the maximum retail price of the product is higher than the actual printed MRP and then offering it at a discount. For instance, the Council said, “The website communication claims the MRP of the product as ₹999, when actual printed MRP on product is ₹449 which is being offered as the discounted price… This distorts facts and is therefore misleading the consumers as to the actual discount being offered,”
While archrival Snapdeal (Jasper Infotech P. Ltd) was pulled up for showing a visual of a man riding a bike without a helmet showing an unsafe practice in the ad. Similarly, Aakash Institute’s advertisement showing a visual of a “boy pillion riding a bike without a helmet” was found to have depicted unsafe practice.
Taxi-aggregator Uber was pulled up for its advertisement that states, “You drink, we drive”. The Council said the depiction of logos of bars was seen “to promote alcohol drinking”.
It also pulled up Pernod Ricard India for its Seagram advertisement stating that the message, “More than a few drinks can change the meaning of U-turn”, read in conjunction with the logo of ‘Seagram’ and statement “Enjoy responsibly”, directly promotes a brand linked to alcohol.”
In the food and beverages category, it also pulled up other brands such as Borges India, General Mills India (Pillsbury), Heinz India, Modi Natural Limited (Rizolo Rice Bran Oil).
Telecom operator Vodafone India’s claim of ‘uninterrupted voice calls on 3G Network’ was found to be not substantiated, while a claim on BSNL’s website about its sales team going to consumer doorsteps to provide connection and collect documents was found false, the Council added.
(This article was published on October 5, 2015)
The above is from the Business Line
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