NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) upheld complaints against 114 advertisements, including Nestle, United Breweries, PharmEasy, Hindustan Unilever, Lotus Herbals during the month of April.
The ASCI had evaluated 157 advertisements and investigated complaints against over 200 advertisements. Forty-nine advertisements in total were made to be withdrawn by the advertisers.
Of the 114 advertisements, 59 were from the education sector, 35 to the healthcare sector, five to the personal care, and two of the food and beverages sector.
The ASCI said the advertisement claim by PharmEasy’s advertisement claim “100% Genuine Medicines” was not substantiated with any verifiable supporting data.
As per the CCC, Nestle India claimed, “Stays Crunchy even in warm milk” and “Jo Rahega Garam Doodh me bhi Kadak” were supported with data that the product remains “crispy” for up to four minutes in warm milk. The reference to this time period was missing in the advertisement.
The ASCI pulled up Mastercard India with MS Dhoni for the claim “Bharat Ka Card” which implies leadership claim. the advertisement was misleading, the ASCI observed.
It observed that while the advertiser took a stance that their Mastercard is a payment gateway, the visual in the TVC shows a physical card. It also observed that there was no evidence showing Dhoni had done due diligence prior to the endorsement. There was a violation of guidelines for celebrities in advertising, it added.