Self-declaration for ads: Confusion reigns with little clarity over rules

Concerns around furnishing self-declarations for advertisements are not about to die down anytime soon. The Supreme Court last month directed advertisers to certify that their ads do not contain any misleading content or claims.

Understandably, there is a lot of apprehension on what this means. The marketing head at a FMCG major thinks self-declaration comes right after several controversies especially around advertising relating to some of the companies in the foods and beverages space. “A lot of brands had to deal with the regulators and it is possible that self-declaration is a result of that.”

That said, how it will play out is unclear at this point. Sandeep Goyal, MD of advertising agency, Rediffusion, believes a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy is being created. “The government has really not made public any policing or penalisation of false or incorrect declarations. All this uploading is fine but the commensurate backend required to judge the submissions for correctness should first have been put in place. Also, who judges the goodness of a claim?” he asks.

Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), points out that misleading claims are a nuanced exercise in the context of advertising. “What needs to be taken into account is not just technical accuracy but also an understanding of how an average consumer might perceive the advertisement given the cues and context in which it is set. Over time, ASCI’s independent jury, through debate and discussion arrives at its recommendation on every ad,” she says.

According to her, advertisers, in general, would believe that their ads are not misleading. “They might put down certain statements and depictions down to creative freedom. While creative freedom indeed is their right and what makes advertising interesting, there is a fine line that it can cross to becomes misleading,” she says.

The big challenge is how self-declaration can be implemented in the case of digital advertising. Given the volume of work that is created each day, this medium is unique. Subhash Kamath, an independent consultant, former CEO BBH and also ex-Chairman, ASCI, explains that the basic premise of the Supreme Court is to curb misleading claims in the business. “That means self-declaration gives them teeth to punish violators. But it can be a logistical nightmare for a creative business, where in digital, for example, ads are created, posted and removed within hours.” Plus, just in terms of size, digital media, according to a recent FICCI-EY report on the media and entertainment industry, had revenues of Rs 57,600 crore through advertising and another Rs 7,800 crore from subscription, taking the size to Rs 65,400 crore. Every major advertiser in India across sectors today has a play in digital.

“Self-declaration especially for digital advertising is a challenge everyone is grappling with. While some of it may be teething trouble, the sheer volume of work that is needed to ensure compliance on digital seems overwhelming for most as of now,” says Kapoor and adds that cost and time implications plus the ability to be agile can all get impacted. Take the case of a news development and a brand wanting to capitalise on that with a witty campaign. With self-declaration, it can get very complicated since time is of essence.