Real money gaming dominates problematic ads as top violator in FY 2022-2023 as per ASCI’s (Advertising Standards Council of India) latest report. 92 percent of ads missed adding the required disclaimer that informs consumers of the financial and addiction risks. Real Money Gaming was recorded as the most non-compliant sector for the same period. Over 50 percent of the ads that required modification did not comply with the Consumer Complaints Council recommendations and have been forwarded to relevant regulatory authorities for further action in accordance with the laws for consumer protection.
Gaming also tipped over education which has been the top violating sector at ASCI for the past few years and moved from fifth to first position.
On the other hand, categories like healthcare, personal care, virtual digital assets (VDA), food and beverages, fashion and lifestyle, edutech stood at 13.4 percent, 13.2 percent, 12.5 percent, 9.4 percent, 3.9 percent and 2.7 percent.
Digital ads have also emerged as the leading violator with 75 percent of the ads being processed from the digital space. Thirty-three percent, 31 percent, 22 percent, 12 percent and two percent were processed from Instagram, Facebook, Website, YouTube, and other platforms. They also turned out to be the least compliant.
Print, television and other platforms stood at 21 percent, three percent and one percent.
There has also been a sharp increase in the number of misleading ads with celebrities in the lead. ASCI, which processed 503 such ads, as opposed to 55 in 2022, a growth of 803 percent was witnessed.
In 97 percent of these ads, the celebrities failed to provide evidence of due diligence as mandated by the Consumer Protection Act. This again poses a serious issue as ads featuring celebrities have a high impact on consumers.
As per the report, influencer violations stood at 26 percent where 2,039 complaints were processed against them. The categories which topped the list of influencer-related violations include personal care, food and beverages, and fashion and lifestyle.