MUMBAI, Aug 5: Advertising sector watchdog on
Monday said it upheld complaints against 132 advertisements
in May this year, including those of Tetley Green Tea, Tang,
iPhone XS, among others.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
examined complaints against 231 advertisements, of which 67
were promptly withdrawn, a statement said.
ASCI’s independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC)
upheld complaints against 132 advertisements, out of 164
advertisements evaluated by them. Of these 132 advertisements,
69 belonged to the education sector, 41 to the healthcare
sector, two from personal care, four from food and beverage,
while 16 were from other category.
It pulled up Mondelez India’s Tang ad claim of
children should drink eight glasses of water…difficult but
there is Tang, as it insinuated that eight glasses of Tang
should be consumed.
The CCC also expressed concern on the emphasis
placed on using the advertiser’s product in place of water.
“The claim was misleading by implication and in
contravention of the ASCI guidelines for advertising of foods
and beverages,” it said while adding that the tagline
‘goodness of fruits and vitamins’ implied that the benefits
offered by the product were much more than fruit taste alone,
which was misleading by ambiguity and implication.
Similarly, it noted that Tata Global Beverages’
Tetley Green Tea’s print advertisement claimed ‘9/10 users
prefer Tetley Green Tea for an active life’ while the video
advertisement used the word ‘recommend’ which was contrary to
the print advertisement.
“The users were not provided with samples of other
brand products to enable them to have a preference; the words
‘prefer’ and ‘recommend’ are misleading by implication. The
use of the word ‘Active Life’ misleads one to think that use
of the product alone would be sufficient to achieve an ‘Active
Life’.
Lastly, the quality of the survey conducted was found
to be inadequate as there was ample reason to question fair
and unbiased communication of information in the
advertisement,” it said.
ASCI also pulled up Santoor Aloe Fresh Soap’s print
advertisement claim of lemon removing stickiness which helps
to remain fresh and young as misleading by implication.
It found Apple iPhone XS advertisement misleading by
ambiguity and implication as the ad featuring shots of the
nature would lead consumer to believe that the image
quality, as depicted in the advertisement, would be feasible
on the iPhone XS alone, whereas in reality, the result would
not be achievable without making additional purchases.
“The CCC did not agree with the advertiser’s
contention that the claim is qualified with the disclaimer in
the advertisement as this was in contravention of the ASCI’s
guidelines on disclaimers in advertising,” it said. (PTI)
&&&
Follow our WhatsApp channel
