Indian advertising is booming, and regulation needs to keep pace. Essenese Obhan and Shalika Bhalla explain
"Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe,” shouted headlines. The allegation was that a man had failed to attract any girl despite using Axe products for more than seven years, even though the Axe advertisement suggested that the product helps men to instantly attract women. Though it was mistaken for a genuine news report across the world, this was in fact a satirical report that seemingly stemmed from a multitude of controversies surrounding the Axe ads, reported on fakingnews.com, an Indian website.
Nevertheless, this highlights a serious concern in the Indian market. The proliferation of brands, immense choice and increased competition have led to an overabundance of advertisements. Th e advertising industry grew by 20 percent in 2010 compared to 8 percent in 2009, leading to aggressive advertisers pushing the advertisement regulation barriers.
In 1985, keeping pace with worldwide practices, Indian marketing and advertising professionals set up the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to self-regulate the content of advertisements. The council’s main objective is to promote responsible advertising to enhance the public’s confidence.
The rest of this article is locked for subscribers only. Please login to continue reading.
If you don't have a login, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content. Please use this link and follow the steps.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription to us that we can add you to for FREE, please email Atif Choudhury at achoudhury@worldipreview.com
India, ASCI, Axe, advertising
