| 1. |
In
keeping with the practice followed in almost 50 countries
around the world, the Indian marketing and advertising
professionals took the initiative of setting up a council
called The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI),
to self-regulate the content of advertisements.
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| 2. |
The
advertisers' association, namely the Indian Society
of Advertisers, the advertising agencies' association,
namely The Advertising Agencies Association of India,
the media owner's association, namely The Indian Newspapers
Society, came together and took the initiative to form
the ASCI (the council).
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| 3. |
The
Council's Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising specifies
that all advertising should be truthful, honest, decent,
legal, safe for consumers particularly minors, and
fair to the competition.
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| 4. |
The
Council is managed by a Board of Governors consisting
of 16 elected members, constituted as follows:
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Four
each from Advertisers |
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from
Advertising Agencies |
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from
Media, and from Allied Professions like outdoor
contractors |
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audio-visual
producers/distributors |
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consumer
researchers |
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printers/blockmakers,
etc. |
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| 5. |
The Council
has been in existence since October 1985 (regd. as
a not-for-profit company u/s 25 of the Indian Companies
Act.)
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| 6. |
It has its
own independent, fully staffed Secretariat of five
members, headed by a Secretary General, who is an ex-Company
Director.
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| 7. |
There is no
other professional association or trade or consumer
body that looks into or tries to regulate the "content" of
advertisements published or appearing in India, other
than the observance of the prevalent laws of the land.
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| 8. |
The Board of
Governors appoint a Consumer Complaints Council (CCC)
to examine complaints received by the Council. The
composition of the CCC is as follows:
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9
from within the advertising industry representing
advertisers, advertising agencies, media owners
and allied professions.
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12
from society at large, consisting of eminent
consumer activists, educationists, prominent
journalists, lawyers, engineers, doctors, etc
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| 9. |
From time-to-time
the Council puts out advertisements in newspapers,
which are generally carried free of cost in the public
interest, informing the consumers about the existence
of the Council; and inviting them to complain to the
Council, at no cost to themselves, should they find
anything wrong or objectionable in any advertisement.
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| 10. |
Each year the
Council receives approximately 150 complaints. Of these,
about 50% are Upheld and we get a voluntary compliance
rate of as high as above 80% (4 out of 5 such advertisements
are withdrawn or modified appropriately so as not to
contravene the Code). If the advertiser refuses to
accept the verdict of the CCC, then the Council uses
its good offices with media owners (particularly its
members), and advises them of such offending advertisements,
which are in contravention of the ASCI Code
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