Of 147 complaints in July, ASCI upholds 134

Maximum violations of ASCI's code were found to occur in the health, personal care and education categories.

The Advertising Standard Council of India's Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), a self-regulatory industry body, has sent out a report about the complaints it upheld in July 2014.

Of the 147 complaints received, the CCC found 134 ads 'guilty' of violating its prescribed code. In the case of some of the products, it was not just the ad but also the product packaging that was found to be misleading.

Most of the complaints received were received against products that belong to the health and personal care (56 ads), education (61 ads), teleshopping, jewellery and automobile categories.

Health care brands that these objectionable ads belong to include: L'Oreal India P Ltd (Garnier Colour Naturals), Hindustan Unilever (Pureit Water Purifier), TVM (Easy Slim Tea), Ayur Gen Herbals (Ayurgen Herbal OTC Products Range), ITC (Vivel), Marico (Livon Hair Gain) and Dr. Batra's Homeopathy Clinic, among others.

Education brands that the aforementioned objectionable ads belong to include: Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies, International Institute of Hotel Management, NR IAS Academy, Eduzone and Ratnashila Hospital, among others.

Note that complaints against advertisements by educational institutes were upheld because of the unsubstantiated claims that they provide 100 per cent placement and/or the claim of being the No.1 player in their respective fields. National Institute of Hotel Management, State Institute of Hotel Management, Jaydev Institute of Social Sciences and Research, Gayatri Educational Institutions, Educational Mission of Information Technology(EMIT), and Indian Institute of Catering Technology and Hotel Management, among others, were found guilty of making such claims.

In the teleshopping category, complaints against six advertisements were upheld; brands include Shri Sobhagya Laxmi Yantra, TVC Sky Shop (Shri Lakshmi Kuber Dhan Varsha Yantra), Eage Shopping (NavGrah Sewa Sanstha), Sat Kartar Shopping (Nari Jeeven Jyoti), Sky Brand India (Gymnedine) and Sidh Chat Mata Kawach.

In the jewellery category, an ad by Joyalukkas Jewellers (one that says 'Shop and win 12 BMC cars plus 2 kg gold') was found to be misleading and the complaint against it was upheld.

In the automobile category, three advertisements were found objectionable; the brands include Hero MotoCorp (Hero Xtreme), Hyundai Motor India, TVS Motor Company (TVS Phoenix 125).

The other advertisers that were found guilty of violating ASCI's code (complaints upheld in May) include Sando Benz Innerwear, Croma Retail, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Myntra.com, LG Electronics and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (Ariel). The charge against these companies is that of making misleading promotions.