MIB cracks down on teleshopping ads; issues advisory to broadcasters

Broadcasters have been told not to air ads that violate either ASCI's code or the provisions under the Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

Close on the heels of releasing a new set of advertising guidelines for skin lightening and fairness products, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body for the Indian advertising industry, has made another pertinent announcement.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued an advisory to TV channels to stop broadcasting teleshopping advertisements that ASCI has ruled to be in violation of its code. Channels have also been told not to air ads that do not comply with the decision of ASCI's Consumer Complaints Council (CCC).

While deliberating on the complaints received, the CCC observed that many of the teleshopping advertisements made unsubstantiated claims and violated the provision of code for self-regulation, as well as the provisions under the Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

The MIB has, in its advisory, compiled a list of these ads and asked broadcasters not to air them on their respective channels. Moreover, broadcasters have been asked to comply with the advertising code of the Cable Television Networks Act (CTN).

The advisory sent by the MIB states that non-compliance of ASCI's code of self-regulation is a violation of rule 7 (9) of the 'Advertising Code' as per the CTN's rules. The CTN code and rules state: "No advertisement which violates the code of self-regulation in advertising, as adopted by ASCI for public exhibition in India, from time to time, shall be carried in the cable service."

Therefore, compliance with the ASCI's decisions is expected of not just advertisers, but TV channels too.

Says Partha Rakshit, chairman, ASCI, "This is another feather in the cap of the ASCI, in its efforts to make advertising more responsible. We were finding that some advertisers on TV channels, especially teleshopping networks, were not complying with the ASCI decisions. We submitted the list to the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) of the MIB for their consideration. Based on that, IMC observed that any violation of ASCI's code also violates the Advertising Code enshrined in the CTN Act and its rules. In short, IMC has directed that advertisements found to violate the ASCI code cannot be carried on TV channels."

Some of the products in the MIB's advisory list which have violated ASCI's code include: Fairpro, Ayurvedic Roopamri Fairness Cream, Celebrity Lift, GLO Intense Brightening System, Rashi Ratan Topaz Ring, Maha Dhan Lakshmi Yantram Musli Power Xtra, Brain Smart GTM, Bhairavi Sadhana - Devishree Foundation Trust, Shaktivardhan Vaccume Threapy, Sandhi Sudha Oil, Madhu Sanjivani, Addiction Killer, Easy Slim Tea and Maha Dhan Lakshmi Yantram, among others.