Kent RO to move court against ASCI verdict

Noida-based Kent RO Systems, maker of water purifiers, will move court this week against a verdict by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

ASCI upheld a complaint last week against a recent campaign of Kent RO Systems that said the brand was the first choice of doctors.

The advertisement, endorsed by actor-politician Hema Malini, also claimed water from Kent RO was the purest. The ASCI found the advertisement misleading.

Mahesh Gupta, chairman of Kent RO Systems, said the regulator had erred in its judgment.

"The claim of being Sabse Shuddh (purest) is something that is being fought out by us in court. It was not right on the regulator's part to comment on it since the matter is sub judice. As far as our claim of being recommended by doctors goes, this is not something we are saying but is based on an independent study. We are moving court this week because we feel we are being unfairly targeted," Gupta said.

This is not the first time Kent RO Systems has found itself in controversy. Consumer activists had earlier raised objections to its vegetable and fruit purifier, which claimed it removed chemicals, pesticides and germs. Hema Malini and her daughter Esha Deol featured in that campaign.

While this advertisement no longer runs on television, Kent RO Systems continues to make the claim on its website where the fruit purifier is displayed.

"Consumer activists may have a point of view, but so do we," Gupta said.

K V Babu, a doctor from Kerala, complained against the Kent RO Systems water advertisement to the ASCI. Babu has earlier fought the Indian Medical Association (IMA) over "unethical endorsement" of products by PepsiCo and Dabur. Babu had first complained to the Medical Council of India saying any endorsement by the IMA was an indirect endorsement by him because he was a member of the body.

The number of complaints against advertisements has grown to 1,900 from 750 a few years ago, according to ASCI officials.