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A couple of weeks ago, a press release issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) caused quite a flutter as it flagged 14 ads aired during the ongoing IPL broadcast as potentially violative of ASCI’s guidelines.
Ads during IPL violating ASCI Guidelines
All 14 ads pertained to the online real-money gaming industry, and seemingly flout the ASCI guidelines on real-money gaming that came into effect in December 2020.
ASCI Secretary General Manisha Kapoor, who was also recently appointed as its CEO, had called out online real-money gaming firms for “attempting a shortcut”, going on to add that “IPL, being a massive platform, requires responsible behavior from all parties – including gaming firms, broadcasters, celebrities and ad creators.”
In this exclusive email interview, we caught up with Ms. Kapoor to better understand the advertising standards compliance issues that crop up during high-visibility live sporting events like the IPL.
1) In December 2020, Advertising Council’s guidelines on real-money gaming came into effect. Is this what prompted Advertising Council’s decision to screen online real-money gaming ads during IPL, or were specific complaints received against these ads?
Advertising of online gaming has boomed since the pandemic. Concerns from the government and other stakeholders about the misleading and harmful nature of some of the ads on consumers prompted ASCI to take action and issue guidelines. IPL is one of the most watched sporting events in our country and we have seen the real-money gaming industry very active on this platform. Hence we keep a close watch on the same.
2) Advertising Council being a self-regulatory body, are you happy with the corrective action, if any, that has been taken by the errant IPL advertisers following ASCI’s adverse findings?
Yes, ASCI has over a 95% compliance rate for the recommendations it issues. We are happy with the corrective action. However, what we would really like to see is that the guidelines are adhered to in the first place.
3) Compared to earlier seasons of the IPL, have the instances of ads violating advertising norms gone up this season?
While the number of instances has remained more or less similar, we know that overall spends have increased and therefore the impact that this has is higher.
4) Outside of gaming ads, were there other categories of ads aired during this IPL Season that violated advertising norms?
Yes, ASCI has looked at some ads that may not qualify for advertising of brand extensions, fintech category, etc.
5) Are the instances of ads violating advertising guidelines particularly higher during IPL (as compared to non-IPL months)?
Not particularly. However, we do see many new campaigns breaking at this time with high spends, and therefore the impact of ads shown during this time is quite high.
6) The findings against 14 potential violators were made in week 1 of the IPL. Are the cases of violation continuing to remain high in the subsequent weeks of the ongoing IPL?
Most of the ads now being seen are repeats.
7) For the benefit of the sports industry professionals reading this, can you list out all the guidelines that are directly applicable to the sports sector?
The entire ASCI Code applies to all ads, i.e., our chapters on misleading ads, offensive ads, ads showing harmful products/ practices, and ads that are not fair in competition. Besides these, the online gaming industry should pay particular attention to:
· Guideline for online real money gaming
· Guidelines for disclaimers
· Guidelines for awards/ranking
· Celebrities in advertising
8) You’ve mentioned alcohol brand ads as being a focus sector for close monitoring during the IPL. Have there been any complaints received by the Advertising Council specifically against Kingfisher’s ads?
We have not taken up any Kingfisher commercial as of now. Please note that brand extensions of alcohol products on TV are pre-cleared by CBFC and hence approved for TV broadcast.
9) When it comes to My11Circle ads – we see the current BCCI President Mr Sourav Ganguly advertising for the same. Would such instances of potential ‘conflict of interest’ fall under the advertising council’s domain, considering that it could lead to making an impression in minds of consumers that My11Circle has the backing of BCCI as its ‘officially endorsed fantasy app’?
If we receive a complaint where consumers have felt misled in this manner, we can investigate the same.
