ASCI | Advertising Standards Council of India Complaint Form Code of Conduct Application of Membership
Role & Function of ASCI
GOALS
   Why Self-Regulation
   Why ASCI
   Objects of ASCI
   ASCI Mission
   Role & Function of ASCI
REGULATION
   ASCI Code
   How to Complain
   Schematic Process
SUPPORT
   Application for Membership
   ASCI Members
   Board of Governors
   Members of Consumer Complaints  Council (CCC)
   Members of Board of Governors  since inception
   Members of CCC since inception
PROGRESS
   The Board of Governors Report
   The Genesis of ASCI
 
     Read
     View
FEEDBACK
   Recent decisions by CCC on
  complaints
   FAQs
   Recent Developments
   Self-Regulation in Advtg - Global  perspectives
 
 

The Role and Functioning of the ASCI & its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) in dealing with Complaints received from Consumers and Industry, against Ads which are considered as False, Misleading, Indecent, Illegal, leading to Unsafe practices, or Unfair to competition, and  consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising.

ASCI is a voluntary self-regulatory council, registered as a not-for-profit Company under section 25 of the Indian Cos. Act. The sponsors of the ASCI, who are its principal members, are firms of considerable repute within Industry in India, and comprise Advertisers, Media, Ad. Agencies and other Professional /Ancillary services connected with advertising practice.

The ASCI is not a Government body, nor does it formulate rules for the public or for the relevant industries. The Purpose and the Mission of the ASCI is spelt out clearly in the literature provided.

You will appreciate that if an AD is to be reviewed for its  likely impact on the sensibilities of individual viewers of TV, or readers of press publications, we require to convey to the Advertiser concerned, the substantial issues raised in the complaint, in the exact context of the specific Ad, as conveyed by the perception of the complainant, and to elicit the appropriate response by way of comments from the Advertiser.

Only then will the CCC, of the ASCI, be in  a position to deliberate meaningfully on the issues involved, and to arrive at a fair and objective conclusion, which would stand the scrutiny of all concerned with the right to freedom of expression, and the freedom of consumers to choose the products /services made available to them in the market-place.

For this we require in each case a  clearly readable copy or clipping of the Ad under complaint, with full particulars of name and date of publication, or a printout of an Ad or promotion on a Website or in case of a T.V. Commercial, the channel, date and time or programme of airing, and a description of the contents of the TVC, along with a hard copy of the complete complaint preferably signed by the complainant.

As a policy we do not disclose the identity of the complainant to the Advertiser.

The ASCI receives and processes complaints against Ads, from a cross section of consumers, the general public and Industry, in the interests of all those who rely on advertising as a commercial communication, and this covers individuals, practitioners in advertising, advertiser firms, media, ad. agencies, and ancillary services connected with advertising.

In the case of complaints which were Upheld by the CCC, during the past year, it may interest you to know that over 80% of such Ads have been withdrawn or modified appropriately by the Advertisers/Agencies involved, and the concerned Media have also confirmed that they would not carry such offending Ads/TVC.


Alan Collaco,

Secretary General,

 
Complaint processing procedure against an Advertisement
Complaint Form
Membership Application Form
Code of Conduct
Regulate yourself, or someone else will.