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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), established in 1985, is

committed to the cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising, ensuring the protection

of the interests of consumers. The ASCI was formed with the support of all four

sectors connected with Advertising, viz. Advertisers, Ad Agencies, Media

(including Broadcasters and the Press) and others like PR Agencies, MarketResearch Companies etc. Its main objective is to promote responsible advertising

thus enhancing the public's confidence in Advertising.

ASCI is represented in all committees working on advertising content in every

Ministry of the Government of India. ASCIs Code for Self-Regulation in

Advertising is now part of ad code under Cable TV Acts Rules. Violation of

ASCIs Code is now violation of Govt. rules. ASCIs membership of The

European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) ensures that it gets valuable

advice, learning and even influence at the international level.

The Consumer Complaints Council is ASCI's heart and soul. It is the dedicated

work put in by this group of highly respected people that has given tremendous

impetus to the work of ASCI and the movement of self-regulation in the

advertising. This group comprise of 21 drawn from various disciplines. 12 are

eminent people not associated with advertising ( such as lawyer, doctor,

journalist, teachers, technical experts consumer activities etc.) and 9 are from

industry (advertiser, media, ad agencies and allied professionals.

ASCI thus aims to achieve its own overarching goal: to maintain and enhance thepublic's confidence in advertising.

ORGANISATION: The Board of Governors (16 members) ensures equitable

representation of Advertisers, Agencies, Media and other Advertising

Services, the individual member firms being leaders in their respective

industries or services. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) (21 members)

has 12 Non-Advertising professionals representing civil society, who are eminent

and recognized opinion leaders in their respective disciplines such as Medical,

Legal, Industrial Design, Engineering, Chemical Technology, Human Resourcesand Consumer Interest Groups; 9 are advertising practitioners from our member

firms.

Self-Regulation

Almost all professional fields have self regulatory bodies governing their activities.

For the advertising fraternity, until 1985 there was none. Due to this there was a lot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternity

8/2/2019 The Advertising Standards Council of India

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of false, misleading and offensive advertising. This led to consumers losing faith in

advertising and hence resenting it. It was decided that if this continued it would not

take time for statutory regulations such as censorship to be imposed on advertising

content.

In 1985, ASCI to be imposed on advertisers and advertising agencies. This would

make fair, truthful and decent advertising almost impossible which would in turn

hinder the industrys ability to compete and grow.

In 1985, the ASCI adopted a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising. With the

introduction of the code, the aim is to promote honest and decent advertising and

fair competition in the industry. It will also ensure the protection of consumer

interests and the all concerned with the ad industry - advertisers, media, advertising

agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of advertisements.

As the fraternity starts accepting the code, it will result in fewer false claims, fewer

unfair advertisements and increased respect for advertisers.

Need for ASCI

When an advertiser is creating an ad, the consumer is his audience. The feedback

from a consumer is important to the advertiser so he can be assured if his message

has been correctly conveyed. If a consumer feels that a particular advertisement is

in bad taste or is false in its claims, they need a body or council to whom they can

air their grievances and who will take any appropriate action, if necessary. ASCI asa self regulatory body governing advertising content is the ideal medium as its

purpose is to serve both the advertisers as well as the consumers

SUBMITTED BY

SANDEEP SINGH