Laws Governing Ads

Details

Category: Laws Governing Ads

Published on Sunday, 27 March 2011 22:53

Written by Super User

Hits: 856

To have more understanding of laws governing ads please have a look at our Legal Environment Advertising Ethics presentation
( please click here to download )

We cannot accept the ads which offends the provisions of the following Acts of Govt of India or various State Governments.

• Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954
• Prohibition Act of various states.
• Emblems and Names Act 1950
• RBI Rules and Regulations
• Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act, 1969
• Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986
• Prize Competitions Act
• Defamatory Ads
• Appointment ads of Private Institutions asking application money.

a)  Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954:

As per the act, advertisements for curing specific diseases as mentioned in the schedule (Xerox copy enclosed) should not be carried.

Ex: Appendicitis, Cancer, Diabetics, Disaster of Brain, Heart Diseased, Sexual impotence and AIDs etc.

Magic Remedies: Offering magical cure for incurable diseases by way of Talisman, Mantra, Kavacha or any other charm of any kind which is alleged to possess miraculous power for or in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease in human beings or animals.

b) Prohibition ads (AP prohibition of Smoking & Health Protection Act 2002)

No person or agency shall advertise in any place and any public service vehicle which may promote smoking, or the sale of cigarettes, cigar or beedies or other such smoking substances.

In other words, NO ADVERTISEMENTS OF CIGARETTES, CIGAR OR BEEDIES SHOULD BE CARRIED IN OUR PUBLICATIONS.

There is a ban on Tobacco products advertisements namely Cigarettes, Pan Masala, Chewed Tobacco, Gutka and beedi directly or indirectly.

Surrogate Ads:  A Surrogate advertisement is one in which a different product is promoted using an already established brand name such ads helping in contribution to brand recall.

b) Products advertising for liquor, cigarette is banned in the country since 1995.  Ads promoting directly or indirectly for sale, consumption of cigarette, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants, infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles, infant food and their extended brands are banned from advertising.

c) As there is a ban on liquor/Tobacco products, Companies manufacturing liquor/cigarettes etc., are finding ways by bringing out brands extensions with  names similar to the Liquor/Cigarette brands.

Ex: Royal Challenge, King Fisher Mineral Water etc.

ASCI (Advertising Standard Council  of India) has clarified that as per the State Governments code, the mere use of the brand name or co-name that may also be applied to a product for which advertising is restricted or prohibited is not reason to find the advertisement objectionable provided the ad is not objectionable and the product is produced and distributed in reasonable quantities and the objectionable advertisement does not contain direct or indirect sale or consumption for the product which is not allowed to be advertised.

c) Emblem of Names – Prevention of improper use Act 1950

As per the Act, no one should use the State Emblem, National Flag, Seal etc., in any manner (for professional and commercial use) without the prior permission from the authorized officer of the Govt. of India.   The India map should not be disfigured.  All boundaries must be given perfectly as approved by the Survey of India.

d) RBI Rules and Regulations:  Ads should not be accepted from –

Companies calling for deposits from public without the prior permission of RBI and offering interest rates than the approved rates of RBI.

Ex: 12%, 18% etc.

Currency notes should not be used in the commercial ads.

e) Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act, 1969

The advertisers use superlatives (puffery) to boost the merits of their products like the best, No. 1, greatest, finest etc. down grading other competitor’s product.  Ex: Hindustan Unilever claims its Pepsodent is 102% better than Colgate.  It is objectionable.

f) Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986

Ads depicting Women in any manner of the figure or form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent or derogatory/ denigrating women or likely depraves the morality of the women.

Sex appeal/sexual figure are used explicitly to sell all sorts of things and to gain consumer attention.  Women are shown as decorative in ads even though it is not appropriate in the advt being advertised to gain extra mileage.

g) Prize competition

Any competition  whether a cross word, Ad prize, missed word, prize competition, picture prize competition in which prizes are offered for the solution without proper license from the authorities.

h) Defamatory Ads

We cannot carry ads per se defamatory nature, use of provocative language (bad language) directed at an individual or group.

i) Appointment ads

Appointment ads asking application money from private companies cannot be accepted.

We cannot carry overseas appointment ads without license from the Ministry of Labour and Rehabilitation, Govt of India.  The advt must contain the address and name of the company identically as given in the License copy.