New Delhi: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has sought changes in advertisements plugging 84 brands, including Amul butter, Livon Hair Gain, eBay and Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s water purifier Pureit Ultima, saying they shouldn’t be published or telecast if they weren’t amended.
The council upheld complaints against all but 11 of the advertisements against which it received complaints in August.
In a statement on Friday, ASCI’s consumer complaints council said the maximum number of complaints were made against products and services in the personal and healthcare category, followed by education.
“We have given them 10 days to modify, drop the ad or seek a review with ASCI’s complaints council,” said Shweta Purandare, secretary general, ASCI.
ASCI is the self-regulatory body that monitors all advertising. It addresses complaints received from consumers and the industry against advertisements that violate the ASCI code and are false, misleading, indecent, illegal or lead to unsafe practices.
In the food category, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) has been asked to pull out its advertisement for Amul butter. “The product packaging of the Amul 500gms butter pack shows a food pyramid with cereals, veggies and fruits at the bottom of the pyramid while Amul Butter is at the top.
It further claims that butter tops the food triangle which is misleading by implication as it implies butter to be the best among other food items as shown on the pack,” the complaints council said. GCMMF executives could not be reached for comment.
