The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced the launch of ASCI Academy.
The entity consolidates ASCI’s thought leadership and educational programmes under one umbrella. Its stated mission is to cultivate advertising professionals dedicated to upholding responsibility in advertising, and hence consumer trust in brands.
“The ASCI Academy is positioned to empower current and future industry professionals including influencers and students with a foundational understanding of advertising regulations, ensuring ethical practices from the outset,” informed an ASCI statement.
The academy will offer programmes spanning online, in-person, and hybrid formats, including e-learning modules, webinars, masterclasses on regulatory nuances and enhancing teaching skills through faculty development programmes.
It will also offer influencer certification programmes to promote responsible endorsement practices and undertake consumer education initiatives to foster informed choices.
ASCI Academy has over 50 founding partners and supporters. These include corporates like Cipla Health, Coca-Cola India, Colgate-Palmolive (India), Diageo India, Hindustan Unilever, Mondelez India Foods, Nestlé India, PepsiCo India Holdings and Procter & Gamble Home Products; several universities and colleges; civil society organisations like Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, Consumer Voice, CUTS and CMS; industry bodies like the ISA, AAAI, IAA and ISWAI; besides research insight organisations.
Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, said, “I congratulate ASCI on the launch of the ASCI Academy. In the digital age, preventive actions need strong impetus and encouragement, and the training of industry professionals – current and future is an important systemic intervention. The Department of Consumer Affairs is supportive of such efforts by the advertising self-regulator to foster a culture of responsibility in the advertising industry. We hope that the advertising industry engages deeply with the Academy programmes to make their teams better trained and educated on the aspects of advertising regulations.”
Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who is part of the ASCI Academy’s Apex Council, said, “Many congratulations to ASCI on the launch of the ASCI Academy. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has always supported self-regulatory mechanisms in the media and entertainment industry. We hope that the resources and support by the Academy would be extremely useful for the online advertisers and platforms.”
NS Rajan, Chairman, ASCI, said, “While ASCI has always had a strong corrective mechanism, we also wanted to harmonise the dynamic interplay between creativity and responsibility and address the broader consequences of advertising on society at large. The ASCI Academy is a big step in this direction which will facilitate a preventive footprint and shape an advertising ecosystem to help the industry to get it right.”
Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, added, “With short campaign durations, it is important that attention is directed at the point of creation of ads, not just after they are published. When the only ads to hit the market are responsible and compliant, it is a win-win for both consumers and industry. Over the next three years ASCI Academy aims to train 100,000 current and emerging professionals through self-learning and on-campus workshops and sessions, besides programmes for research and consumer education. This is a new chapter in self-regulation in India, and we are grateful to all our founding partners for supporting this vision. We hope to add several more believers in this agenda- this is just the beginning”.
More on the ASCI Academy here.
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