Ads watchdog upholds complaints against 99 advertisements

Advertising sector watchdog ASCI upheld complaints against 99 out of 136 advertisements in February for misleading ads, including those of Procter & Gamble, ITC, Marico and Dabur.
According to the Customer Complaints Council (CCC) of Advertising Standard Council of India, health and personal care category continued to lead with 80 violations in this regard.
Complaint against Procter & Gamble's Vicks Vaporub ad which claimed that by buying a Vicks Vaporub pack, a consumer is saving Rs 50, was also upheld.
"In a very small font size, a disclaimer is given stating that buying 50g vaporub vs. Buying 5g Vaporub, based on MRP. The ad appears to be misleading," ASCI said in its order.

Similarly, complaint against Dabur's Fem Fairness Natural Bleach was upheld as it claims "everyone's desire for fairness will be fulfilled" and "The saffron in it gives a glowing skin for long time."
Complaints against advertisements of ITC Ltd's Kwiknic Chewing Gum and Marico Ltd's Saffola Total were upheld for unsubstantiated claims.
ASCI also upheld 5 complaints in the education sector for unsubstantiated claims.
As per ASCI, claims by educational institutes including Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Triumphant Institute of Management Education Pvt Ltd and Sachdeva College were not substantiated, thereby violating guidelines for advertising of educational institutions.