The ad wars, in the name of targeting consumers, are making the competition more reckless and surreal. Where should the industry, including the ad industry, draw the red-line?
Manisha Kapoor
CEO & Secretary General, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
Let me start with a little bit about the Advertising Standards Council and what we do. We are the self-regulatory body of the Indian advertising industry, which means that we are not the government; we are not a statutory body, but we are formed by the industry to take care of its own ads in a voluntary fashion. We have an independent jury. Sometimes, people express concerns that since it’s comprised of industry professionals, it may not remain neutral when adjudicating industry cases. They question how we ensure fairness. However, our independent jury operates autonomously and isn’t influenced by any external directives.
We provide a free grievance mechanism for anyone wishing to lodge a complaint about an advertisement they’ve seen. Both governmental and judicial complaints have been directed to us, including those from Supreme Court judges. This indicates a perceived efficacy and fairness in our resolution process.
Recognition and Adoption of ASCI Code
We maintain a proactive surveillance cell that monitors digital advertising. While the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is not a statutory body, its code is legally recognized and integrated into various legislative frameworks. We are referenced in the Cable TV Act, the Insurance Development Authority Act, and the Prasar Bharati Act. These affiliations underscore the broad recognition and adoption of the ASCI code.
We are connected to a global network of self-regulatory organizations in the advertising sector across different regions. We collaborate extensively with the government on diverse projects. In parliamentary debates concerning misleading advertisements, data from ASCI is frequently cited. We are a specialist body dedicated to examining advertising practices and striving to enhance responsibility within the industry.
There are four parts to the ASCI code when addressing competition:
- Our primary focus revolves around ensuring honest representation.
- We aim to eliminate misleading advertisements.
- We aim to eliminate ads that may offend the public or depict harmful situations, especially concerning children.
- Our goal is to maintain fairness and equity in advertising practices. However, the concept of fairness in competition is debatable.
The ad wars that we discuss fall in the fourth category of ensuring fairness in competition.
From Correction to Prevention
The automobile and education sectors advertise quite heavily. We see a lot of misleading ads in these sectors, especially with regard to claims about awards and rankings. So, we have made sector specific guidelines and interpretations as well. ACSI’s role when it was formed was more of a corrective nature. But now, increasingly, we want to help the industry to get it right, rather than catching them when they get it wrong. We want to prevent irresponsible or misleading ads coming into the market in the first place.
With that in mind, last year, we established an ASCI Academy to train people on legal compliance and responsible advertising practices. We also raise a lot of important issues on advertising. All our reports are available on our website for anyone to see. We cover issues ranging from the role of gender in advertising, to generative AI and advertising ethics.
We want to ensure healthy competition through ad wars. Last year, there was a huge debate on honey. It is a tough job to act as an umpire, but luckily having the code makes it easy for us to interpret. ASCI does not have a problem if you name your competitor in the ad. However, we would like comparisons to be fair and it should not give unjust advantage to one party over another. Consumers should be able to choose between different products or brands by knowing the qualities of one versus the other. But it should not be misleading and it should not unfairly denigrate the competition. You can say that I am better than X, if you have all the evidence. But you should not say that X is bad.
M Elango
Vice President, FCB Group India
Let me share my own experiences with The Hindu newspaper when I started my career in advertising. The Hindu used to take their role seriously about regulating advertising in spite of the fact that advertising heavily subsidises the cover price of a copy of the newspaper. The Hindu definitely welcomes ads. But 20 or 30 years back, when you sent an ad to be published in The Hindu, they could also reject that ad. The ad agency may get the ad approved by their clients and then rush to The Hindu. The next day, the ad wouldn’t come because Hindu had rejected it. The Hindu’s stand was very clear. They said, ‘Our readers trust us. When we carry an ad, it is almost like we having vetted that ad.’ If you made a false claim or tall claims, especially about investment products, The Hindu would not accept.
Those were days when media themselves had regulation on advertising and content. It was around the time when ASCI was also formed. Doordharshan too had very strict guidelines for their ads. Before making the ad, you have to get the storyboard approved by Doordharshan. You can’t show an army officer or jawan in the ad. You can’t portray religious figures. So we had to find creative workarounds to their rules.
“Truth Well Told”
The vision statement of the ad agency McCann-Erickson is: Truth well told. That one line has stuck with me all through my career in advertising. What is it that we are called to do? We are called to speak the truth, but not plainly. Do it well, do it interestingly and do it in a creative manner. I believe this is a mantra that each one of us in advertising and marketing can tap into and practice. People who create advertising must know the product thoroughly, so they can tell the truth enough.
Before we set out to advertise, we spend time with our clients to understand the product, what it does and how it works. It’s always good for the advertising practitioners to interrogate about the product and get to know the truth, so that they can speak the truth.
Focus on Value
I feel the nomenclature of ‘ad wars’ is rather clichéd. Al Ries and Jack Trout came out with a book called Marketing Warfare. Are we really at war, brand to brand? When you look at it as a marketing war being fought over market share, then you would say all is fair in love and war. But I believe that we should not be so focused on market share driven marketing, but be focused on value driven and growth driven marketing, where you strive to be better than how you were the previous year. You try to grow your business. There is enough in the marketplace for everybody. So, talk about yourself. Even if you want to talk about others, do it in a fair manner. Do it with truth.
Shashank Singh
Head – Marketing & Channel Growth, The India Cements Ltd
Let me share my views from a marketer’s perspective. In marketing, there is no golden goose and there is no short way of building relationships with the consumers. Both regulators and the advertisers must understand our challenges. We all need to come together and build something which works ethically for the consumers.
A marketer is always under the pressure of targets. We want to make use of moment marketing. For example, on the Labour Day, I think of doing something for the workers and thereby generating a sales volume. We all want to make profits. We are all market-share-driven up to a certain point. But the challenge lies in doing the business sustainably.
I have worked for some of the brands. I’ve also worked for a startup. So, I can understand both the versions. Not just startups, even big companies say that the next one year is pivotal for them. The top leadership must think about dominating for the next 10 to 15 years, rather than focussing on a short term. For the long haul, a brand, consumer relationship and sustained profits are needed. Marketing gimmicks may work for a day or two. The consumers are the kings and if they find out your advertising claims are false, then they will dump you.
Core Principles
There are some basic principles that we have to follow as marketers.
One: Always under promise and over deliver. This is DNA of creating consumer delight. When I do this, my market share and profitability go up and I get more repeat purchases. I get better word of mouth. I don’t have to depend on social media influencers. These days, people see through what the influencers say.
Two: Differentiate between insights and nuances. Today, the consumer has started doing things differently but their motivations and aspirations haven’t changed much because of the nuances. Making extreme claims doesn’t work with the consumers. When we get marketing insights, we must go deeper and look for the nuances. Keep learning.
Three: As Indians, we must all come together to develop a product for the globe. With AI, we can scale it up.
To sum up, there a need for marketers to go back to the basics of what really moves the consumer, to build a sustainable company.
Shuvadeep Nag
Partner – R K Swamy Limited
The word ‘war’ has a very negative connotation. In wars, we will be on the wrong side of the moral compass. It’s cutthroat. It’s gory. It’s lawless. If we look at our own mythology, Mahabharata tried to have a code of conduct for war but that was violated. Unfortunately, any war-like situation would always warrant a certain justification of whatever people do.
We Create Impact
My first submission is that we have to get out of this ‘war’ mindset. It is a healthy competition. The interesting thing is that politicians, media, spiritual gurus and those of us in the advertising industry have one thing in common. That is the social impact we have on people. Politicians have an impact. We quibble about them. Media has an impact. We quibble about them. Films have an impact. We quibble about them. If we believe that our actions have impact, we need to be socially responsible. Period. There is no debate. There is no scope for any interpretation on that front. That is not any purposive or moralistic thing. That’s a simple social obligation that we as a business have towards society.
If that be the case, as a practitioner, what are my guardrails? The whole landscape of communication has changed. Nobody has a clue as to what works today. We used to joke that 50% of advertising spend is a waste. One report says that out of 51,000 crores of money going into digital advertising, nearly 10% are victims of ad fraud. This means that 5000 crores are going into ad fraud. There’s something seriously fishy out there and which we need to be very careful about.
Digital is a reality. It has fabulous benefits. But the question is: how should I trade with caution? As an industry, we need to understand how we can fight this fraud. It is not just a monetary loss. It adds back to consumer cynicism. Every commercial piece of content that we’re putting out raises a question mark.
When we discuss deceitful advertising, we must delve into three topics. One is misplaced or misleading product claims; Two, the emergence of token woke, where all of a sudden, you become socially conscious and do something token; Three, concealing of information.
We exist because of our consumers or customers. Today, the power equation has changed and the customer has a voice. Not that every time the customer is truthful. We need to be very cautious and must fight fraud and fraudulent messages. As practitioners, we must remember that the cost of rebuilding reputation is far higher than building reputation. This is also relevant from a pure return on capital invested angle.
Banter vs. Slander
There are also moral issues in competition and advertising. Everybody takes a banter very lightly. Banters do not harm anybody; but malice or slander does. We must have guardrails against malice. Gaining attention is very easy but you should not put out something unnecessarily and contentious.
The next aspect is using technology judiciously. AI is a great liberator, but AI also raises questions on deep fakes. There is no clear definition of a deep fake. Fundamentally, we ought to be a lot more responsible and responsive in the work that we push out to the consumer community.
Q&A
Elango: Manisha, I have one question for you. As the leader of ASCII, you must have undoubtedly encountered the challenges posed by the rapidly evolving digital media landscape. With the proliferation of new media channels and the accessibility for even small businesses to become advertisers, what concerns or challenges are at the forefront of your mind? In the context of this dynamic environment, could you share your thoughts and initiatives regarding digital media regulation?
Manisha: The challenges posed by the digital landscape keep me on my toes. The sheer volume of advertising flooding the digital space presents a nightmare for regulators like ASCI and governmental bodies alike.
One notable challenge is the ever-shrinking duration of advertising campaigns. In the past, campaigns would run for several years, allowing ample time for monitoring and intervention. Nowadays, campaigns can vanish quickly, making it difficult for consumers to report misleading ads. For instance, I receive complaints about ads that have disappeared before they could be addressed. This ephemeral nature of digital ads poses a significant challenge for regulation.
To address this, we’ve established the ASCI Academy, aiming to educate stakeholders on compliance and responsible advertising. We recognize that most advertisers aren’t deliberately misleading consumers; often, they lack awareness of regulations or industry standards. By educating and influencing these advertisers positively, we hope to prevent misleading advertisements from entering the market in the first place.
Our goal is to foster a culture of self-regulation within the industry. If we fail to do so, governmental intervention becomes inevitable, leading to increased compliance costs and potentially blocking creativity. We firmly believe that self-regulation, with industry stakeholders overseeing their peers, is the best approach for maintaining integrity and creativity within the advertising industry.
Q: Do cultural differences and regional nuances impact the advertising strategies?
Shashank Singh: They do impact advertising strategies. We have been working in the cement industry for the last 75 years and dealing with AP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Generally, they say that there must be one communication for all. But this is not practical. The marketers have their own judgment. What we talk in Tamil Nadu for the same set of categories could be very different from what is used in another state.
Q: What role do regulatory bodies play in ensuring fair competition in advertising and what steps can advertisers take to ensure compliance with regulators? In the Indian context, how effective has regulation been, based on your experience?
Manisha: Self-regulation has indeed proven reasonably successful, both in India and globally, particularly in the advertising sector. The effectiveness of self-regulation comes from its structured approach, anchored in a predefined code of conduct. This code serves as a yardstick for evaluating advertisements, eliminating subjective judgments based on personal preferences.
What sets self-regulation apart is the involvement of a diverse jury comprising representatives from both the industry and civil society. This ensures a balanced assessment of ads, considering both commercial interests and consumer protection. Remarkably, our jury decisions are often unanimous, indicating a consistent understanding of what constitutes misleading advertising.
Voluntary compliance is a cornerstone of self-regulation. Out of the numerous ads that we evaluate, approximately 95% receive voluntary compliance, demonstrating industry willingness to adhere to regulatory standards. Importantly, this compliance extends beyond ASCI members to include non-member companies, showcasing the broader acceptance and impact of self-regulatory measures.
However, self-regulation isn’t a panacea. For deliberate or repeat offenders, legal intervention becomes necessary. It’s essential to view self-regulation as one component within a broader regulatory framework. Regulation involves a series of steps. Take for example the building security. You have the security guard, the police and then you have the army. All three of them are essentially doing the same job of keeping someone safe. But the levels at which you do it is different. If you have a fight with your neighbour, you’re not going to call the army. If that fight can be settled there, why should you call the police?
We train students on the ASCI code and give out certificates if they reported a certain number of valid cases, which we could take to a jury. We’ve done a few experiments, though not on a very large scale. We can certainly think of creating cohorts of vigilant consumers. I don’t know if we can incentivise them but the fact that we can resolve issues is a great motivator for someone to bring it up in the first place.
