Mumbai: At Brew 2025, organised by GroupM, a session titled “The Accountability Code: On Managing ‘Cancel Culture’ & Brand Safety” was held.
Manisha Kapoor, CEO of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), was one of the panellists. Moderated by Kunal Sawant, Business Head at The Goat Agency, the session discussed the evolving challenges brands face in the era of cancel culture.
Sawant asked Kapoor whether, given the current environment and her regulatory experience, she sees brands proactively seeking help and guidelines to navigate these challenges.
Kapoor responded, “Some brands do it proactively. Many approach us only after they land in trouble. Then they call us and ask, ‘What do we do now?’
It is a challenging time for brands to be online. While there are a lot of opportunities, everyone today can comment on your work. In some ways, that’s good because it offers feedback — but sometimes, it may not be the feedback you want to hear.”
From a regulatory and policy standpoint, Kapoor explained that ASCI focuses on two factors:
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Whether a situation constitutes a violation of policy.
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Whether it leads to grave and widespread problems.
She clarified, “Just because something is widespread doesn’t automatically make it an issue. It also needs to be grave — something that could truly cause harm. That’s where ASCI steps in — either to guide brands or advise them to pull content that crosses the line.”
Kapoor added that some brands, especially those investing heavily in celebrity endorsements or large campaigns, now often consult ASCI before launching new campaigns. “In some cases, they seek advice proactively. In others, it happens post-facto. But yes, we are seeing an increasing tendency for brands to seek pre-launch consultations.”
When asked for a key principle to navigate cancel culture, Kapoor said, “If you’re doing something long-term and authentically, you have the right to speak. Even if you cross a line occasionally, audiences are likely to forgive you if they trust you.
Stick to what you know. Do deep research, especially if you’re associating with a cause. Understand it and the people behind it before taking a public stand.”
Samir Karpe, Country Manager, India at DoubleVerify, was also on the panel. He explained how his company helps brands maintain brand safety: “There are two critical areas. First, when integrating within content — as a sponsorship or part of the story — your brief must be crystal clear. Values must be outlined upfront. Second, with the explosion of digital content, attention spans have gone up. Audiences return more frequently, giving brands multiple opportunities daily to stay authentic and consistent with messaging.”
He added that DoubleVerify uses “content intelligence” technology, “Our tools analyse not just text, but also sentiment, tonality, and full context, within less than a second. Brands can then decide if they want to appear alongside specific content.”
Karpe further explained their two-layer approach:
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Brand Safety: Filtering out unsafe content entirely.
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Brand Suitability: Allowing brands to select content that matches their values and messaging style.
“When you filter content at this scale, you can build long-term trust — bit by bit, day by day.”
Mallika Dua, comedian and actor, shared a creator’s perspective on brand relationships, “Historically, the brand-creator relationship has been transactional — and that works fine when things are going well. Over time, everything has become extremely data-driven. But we are living, breathing human beings — not data points.”
Dua criticised brands for cutting ties too quickly based on short-term trends, “When a creator goes viral, brands are quick to approach them. But if that same creator becomes ‘radioactive,’ brands are the first to back off. Brands and creators should view each other as human beings, not just as data or algorithms.
If a brand stands for certain values, it should not compromise just to partner with someone trending. Similarly, creators shouldn’t sell out for a paycheck. Mutual respect is crucial for longevity.”
She emphasized, “Platforms, algorithms, mandates — they will all change. But human beings and creators remain.”
Prakhar Gupta, podcaster and content creator, also weighed in, calling the influencer marketing industry still nascent, “Brand-creator collaborations are largely data-driven today. Genuine, long-term relationships are rare. As a consumer, if I see a creator promoting a brand consistently over time, I’m more likely to trust it.”
Gupta advised creators, “There’s little value in instant virality. Holding onto your values long-term is a safer, smarter, and more sustainable path. At the start of your creative journey, be very clear about the compromises you will and will not make. Trust is an automatic by-product of consistency and integrity.”
He added that today’s creators enter the space deliberately, knowing it can be a career.
When asked if she had ever been asked to pull content, Mallika Dua recounted, “When I started, I was outspoken — and I still stand by that. However, there’s a difference between something that’s morally wrong (which is subjective) and something that’s institutionally wrong. Agencies, having long managed Bollywood, often misunderstand creators — who are individuals, not fictional personas. Earlier, people aired political opinions more freely. Today, the internet is no longer a space where only the young or ‘cool’ hang out.”
Dua remarked that while cancel culture isn’t truly real (“people come back, often bigger”), boycott and blackmail culture very much exist, “Even if you stand by your words, a mob can pressure brands into disassociating from you. That’s blackmail, and it’s real.”
As a comedian, she said, “The line between the right to make a joke and someone’s right to be offended is very thin. It’s an ongoing negotiation — and likely will be, forever.”
At Brew 2025, panellists agreed that today’s brand and creator landscape demands authenticity, consistency, and deeper relationships — beyond just chasing data, trends, or fleeting popularity.
Brands must define their values clearly, creators must safeguard their integrity, and both sides must recognise the human element behind every campaign.
