Standards and Codes of Advertisement in India A Critical Insight

* Mr. K.Bhanu Prakash Mr.K.Satyanarayana ** * Dr. J.Chandra Prasad

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ABSTRACT
Advertising is the life blood of all businesses. It persuades and turns peoples attention to a specific thing. Advertising is like a kaleidoscope exhibiting different perspectives. Without advertising no products or services could flow to distributors or sellers and on to the consumers or users. Ethics is said to be the science of moral, moral principle and recognized rules of conduct. Advertising ethics has been, and continues to be, a mainstream topic in advertising research. Direction setting for advertising practices in Philippines is governed by the Advertising Board of the Philippines (Adboard). In USA The Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is administered by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). The Code of Advertising in Australia has been adopted by the AANA (Australian Association of National Advertisers) as part of advertising and marketing self-regulation. The advertising practices in UK are regulated and governed by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) the UK's independent regulator. Like other countries around the world, India too has a self regulatory organization for advertising content i.e., The Advertising Standards Council of India(ASCI ) founded in 1985 with the three main constituents of advertising industry viz., advertisers, advertising agencies and media. The aim of ASCI is to maintain and enhance the public's confidence in advertising. Their mandate is that all advertising material must be truthful, legal and honest, decent and not objectify women, safe for consumers especially children and last but not the least, fair to their competitors. This paper critically examines the ethical standards and codes of advertising prescribed by ASCI. The standards which are prescribed by ASCI should be taken as minimum standards of acceptability which would be liable to be reviewed from time to time in relation to the prevailing norms of consumers susceptibilities. Unethical advertising methods use falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truthful facts to deceive the public. Finally, "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.
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Mr.K.Bhanu Prakash, M.Com.,M.Phil.,(Ph.D.,), Associate Professor, SAP FI/CO & HR Consultant, Vestal Institute of Management & IT, Eluru, A.P.,e-mail: [email protected] ** Mr.K.Satyanarayana, M.Com.,M.Phil.,M.B.A., M.A.,(Litt.,)(Ph.D.,), Associate Professor, Akula Gopayya College of Management, e-mail: [email protected]. *** Dr.J.Chandra Prasad,M.Com.,M.B.A., M.A.,(Litt.,), M.A.,(HR), B.L., Ph.D., Principal, DNR Colleges, Bhimavaram,A.P., e-mail: [email protected]

Introduction
The word advertising is derived from the Latin word viz., advertero, ad meaning towards and verto meaning I turn. Literally it means to turn peoples attention to a specific thing. Advertising is mass paid communication , the ultimate purpose of which is to impart information, develop attitudes and induce action beneficial to the advertiser (generally the sale of a product or service).1 Advertising as essentially form of communication through such diverse media as handbills, newspapers, magazines, bill boards, letters, radio, and television broadcasts and motion pictures. 2

Advertising is the life blood of all businesses. Without advertising no products or services could flow to distributors or sellers and on to the consumers or users. Advertising is a booster of our market economy. It informs people about new products, services or brands, or improvements of existing ones so they can make rational and carefully considered buying decisions. Advertising creates transparency and therefore a greater variety of offers. All this contribute to boost sales, enhance efficiency, stimulates the economy in the form of creation of employment and enhance the level of incomes.

_______________________________________________________________________ _ 1. Colley, R.H., Defining Advertising Goods for Measured Advertising Results, 1961.

2. Encyclopedia of Britannica Advertising is like a kaleidoscope exhibiting different perspectives. India is an

emerging market and Indian Advertising has remained robust in spite of signs of sluggishness. The advertisements have been rolled out in leaps and bounds. Today, it is much more than few printed lines or some pictures with some printed text. Advertisements are meant to convey the marketers message to the prospective customers and to lure/persuade them to purchase the products. Today advertising still persists in our minds with negative connotations. Thats also obvious to their creator. There is a dire need to the Advertisers to design attracting and appealing advertising which is entertaining, enticing and catching the pulse of the viewers. Their main task is to get the attention of the audience. The producers of the enlisted product want their product to be noticed and to gain center stage for just a few seconds. Thats the main task and challenge of the whole advertising industry. It is difficult to the Advertiser to catch the attention of the viewers and therefore do everything for it. They use sexual innuendoes, break taboos or shock the audience (Bolten, 2009)3 Advertising plans form a part of the marketing plan, which is the part of the companys long term goals. Advertising plans define the positioning strategy, the target consumers and their behaviour. Successful advertising is a result of clear objectives and strategies. A well-planned creative strategy through appropriate media is necessary for the success of ad campaigns.

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3. Maike Drk, , Ethical Claims in Advertising, GRIN Publishing, Munich, 2011.

The word ethics is derived from the Latin word ethicus and the Greek word ethikos meaning character or manners. Ethics is a set of moral rules or principles of behavior for deciding what is right and wrong (Longman Dictionary, 1995). In short, it is a code of conduct that guides an individual in dealing with others. Ethics is said to be the science of moral, moral principle and recognized rules of conduct. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. It aims to study the goodness, the goodness of a life or an action. Business Ethics can be described as a companys responsibility for its actions and their consequences (Franken, 2010, p.223)4. On the other hand, social responsibility is a more nebulous phenomenon. It is understood as the obligation of decision-makers to take actions which protect and improve the welfare of the society as a whole along with their own interests. (Aswathappa, 2007)5. Social responsibility is the next step to ethics as it is not possible to have social responsibility without ethical behavior and ethics without social responsibility. Advertising ethics has been, and continues to be, a mainstream topic in advertising research. Codes of Ethics for advertising practices in India are issued by the Advertising Standard Council of India. The Code of Ethics in Advertising, hereinafter referred to as the Code, constitutes a set of standards and contains a set of principles that should be obeyed by entrepreneurs, including especially advertisers and other legal and natural persons as well as organisational units without legal personality conducting advertising in Indian territory.

4. Maike Drk, , Ethical Claims in Advertising, Munich, GmbH, 2011. p.223.

GRIN Publishing

5. Ashwathappa., Essentials of Business Environment, HPH, 2007.

The activities to which the provisions of the Code apply shall be performed with due diligence, in accordance with the prevailing standards of decency, with a due sense of social responsibility, and should conform to the principles of fair competition. The parties to agreements applying to advertising can construct their mutual legal relations at their own discretion, provided that such relations are consistent with the Code.

Standards and Codes of Advertisement Practices A Global Perspective

Direction setting for advertising practices in Philippines is governed by the Advertising Board of the Philippines (Adboard). The governing body of the Adboard

composed of representatives of national organizations involved in advertising practices who have banded together to promote the development of the advertising industry through self-regulation, in harmony with industry goals. The Adboard is an umbrella organization of the advertising industry in Philippines and the Code and Manuals are "live mechanisms" and are subject to periodic revisions, reviews and refinements toward improvement of advertising practices of the advertisers.

In USA The Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is administered by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Its fundamental purpose is to inspire advertising, Public Relations and marketing professionals to practice the highest personal ethics in the creation and dissemination of commercial information to consumers. The mission of the IAE is to serve as the primary resource for advertising professionals and academics and students on issues regarding advertising ethics. These include (1) Conducting research on the importance of, and issues regarding, ethics in advertising; (2) Educating advertising, public relations and marketing communications professionals, and academics and students on the importance and content of advertising ethics through (a) the articulation of Ethical Principles and Practices for Advertising, along with the Commentary, on this Web site, and (b) by conducting online and offline conferences and seminars; (3) Designing and issuing awards to companies and professionals for enhanced advertising ethics; and (4) Facilitating interaction between advertising, public relations and marketing

communications professionals, and academics and students for discussion on all areas of advertising ethics. The Code of Advertising in Australia has been adopted by the AANA (Australian Association of National Advertisers) as part of advertising and marketing self-regulation. The object of this Code is to ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful and that they have been prepared with a sense of obligation to the consumer and society and fair sense of responsibility to competitors. Advertising plays an essential role in todays world. It informs, entertains and promotes healthy competition. The advertising practices in UK is regulated and governed by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and it is the UK's independent regulator of

advertising across all media, including marketing on websites. It works to ensure ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying the Advertising Codes. Its aims to ensure that consumers do not just enjoy the ads they see, but they can trust them too. UK Advertising Codes are some of the strictest in the world. On average, 97 per cent of the ads we see each day are in line with the Codes. It can take just one complaint to change or remove a problematic advertisement.

Need for Advertising Code in India

Advertisement is a facet of right to information. A vital aspect of advertising that makes it a part of Article 19(1)(a) is that it facilitates the dissemination information about who is selling what product and at which price. Advertisements help people make wellinformed and intelligent economic choices. More important than the right of expression of the advertiser is the right of the recipient of the advertisement. Advertisers should ensure that their ads are not offensive or violating the local and global prescribed standards and should not violate the basic standards of decency, morality and religious beliefs of viewers. In India, certain ethics must be followed while creating ads.

Standards and Codes of Advertising Practices in India Role of ASCI

ASCI is a voluntary Self-Regulation council, registered as a not-for-profit Company under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956. The sponsors of the ASCI, who are

its principal members, are firms of considerable repute within Industry in India, and comprise Advertisers, Media, Ad Agencies and other Professional/Ancillary services connected with advertising practice. The ASCI is not a Government body, nor does it formulate rules for the public or the relevant industries.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) (1985) has adopted a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising. It is a commitment to honest advertising and to fair competition in the market-place. It stands for the protection of the legitimate interests of consumers and all concerned with advertising - advertisers, media, advertising agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of advertisements

Standards and Codes of Conduct Prescribed by ASCI

Advertising is an important and legitimate means for the seller to create inquisitiveness about his products. The success of advertising depends on public confidence. Hence, no practice should be permitted which tends to impair this confidence. The standards laid down here should be taken as minimum standards of acceptability which would be liable to be reviewed from time to time in relation to the prevailing norm of consumers susceptibilities. The ASCI Code of Advertising Practice is cited in 4 Chapters. Chapter One deals with certain truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made while

Second Chaptermakes ensure that the advertisement is not offensive to generally acceptable standard of public decency. The Third Chapter discloses the safeguards against indiscriminate advertisement in situation or of the promotion of products which are regarded as hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals particularly minors and the focal point of the Fourth Chapter is to ensure that advertisement observes fairness in competition.

Chapter I
To ensure the Truthfulness and Honesty of Representations and Claims made by Advertisements and to Safeguard against misleading Advertisements:

1. Advertisement should be truthful. All descriptions, claims and comparisons, which relate to matters of objectively ascertainable fact, should be capable of substantiation whenever ASCI called upon. 2. Advertisement claims expressly stated based on or supported by independent research or assessment, the source and date of this should be indicated in the advertisement. 3. The advertiser and the advertising agency shall not confer an unjustified advantage from the person, firm or institution under reference. If and when ASCI asks the advertiser and the advertising agency is liable to produce the explicit

permission from the person, firm or institution to which reference is made in the advertisement. 4. Advertisements shall neither distort facts nor mislead the consumer by means of implications or omissions. 5. Advertisements shall not be so framed as to abuse the trust of consumers or exploit their lack of experience or knowledge. No advertisement shall be permitted to contain any claim so exaggerated as to lead to grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers.

Chapter II
To ensure that Advertisements are not offensive to generally accepted standards of Public Decency. Advertisements should contain nothing indecent, vulgar or repulsive which is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave or widespread offence.

Chapter III
To safeguard against indiscriminate use of advertising in situation of the promotion of product, which are regarded as hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals, particularly minors, to a degree or a type, which is unacceptable to society at large.

No advertisement shall be permitted which:

Tend to incite people to crime or to promote disorder and violence or intolerance. Derides any race, caste, color, creed, or nationality. Presents criminality as desirable or directly or indirectly encourages people, particularly children, to emulate it or convey the modus operandi of any crime.

Advertisement affects friendly relations with foreign State. Advertisements addressed to minors shall not contain anything, whether in illustration or otherwise, which might result in their physical, mental or moral harm or which exploits their vulnerability.

Should not encourage minors to enter strange places Should not feature dangerous or hazardous acts, which are likely to encourage minors to emulate such acts, which could cause harm or injury.

Should not show minors playing with inflammable or explosive substances. Should not feature minors for tobacco or alcohol based products. Advertisement should contain nothing, which is in breach of law, nor omit anything, which the law requires.

Advertisement shall not propagate products, which are banned under the law.

Advertisement for products whose advertisement is banned or restricted by law or by this code must not circumvent such restrictions by purporting to be advertisement for other products.

Chapter IV
To ensure that the advertisement observe fairness in competition such that the consumers needs to be informed on choice in the market place.Advertisement containing comparison with other manufacturers or suppliers or with other products including those where a competitor is named, are permissible in the interest of vigorous competition and public enlightenment provided:

Evaluate the advertisers product with that of competitors products. The subject matter of comparison is not chosen in such a way as to confer an artificial advantage upon the advertiser or so as to suggest that a better bargain is offered than is truly the case.

The comparison are factual, accurate and capable of substantiation. There is a likelihood of the consumer being mislead as a result of the comparison, whether about the product advertised or that with which it is compared.

The advertisement does not unfairly denigrate, attack or discredit other products, advertisers or advertisement directly by implication.

Advertisement shall not make unjustifiable use of names, initials of the other firm, company or institution, nor take unfair advantage of the goodwill attached to the Trade Mark or symbol of other firms. Advertisement shall not be similar to any other advertisers earlier run advertisement in general lay out, copy, slogans, visual representation, music or sound effects, so as to suggest plagiarism.

Legal actions can be taken against advertisements that:

Ridicule caste, race, nationality, colour and creed. Go against any provision of the Indian Constitution. Incite people towards criminal activity, provocative, cause disorder and/or violence in the country. Breach laws and/or glorify obscenity or violence in any form. Glorify terrorism, communal massacres, criminality and so on. Ridicule the father of the nation, the national emblem, part of Constitution or the image of a national leader or a state dignitary. Depict women in a deprecating manner. Females should not be portrayed in a manner that is obscene, exploitative or vulgar. Display distasteful visual content that goes beyond the established norms of good taste and decency. Exploit and encourage social evils like child marriage, bride burning and dowry system.

Other Advertising Agencies in India

To regulate advertising practices, ASCI endeavours to achieve compliance with its decisions through reasoned persuasion and the power of public opinion. Besides ASCI, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Monopolies Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC), India Chapter of International Advertising

Association(IC OF IAA) and Indian Society of Advertisers & Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (ISA AND AFAA) propagate their Codes and a sense of responsibility for its observance amongst advertisers, advertising agencies and others connected with the creation of advertisements, and the media. Here are some more ethics and standards to be followed in advertisements:

1. Permission will not be granted where objects are completely or largely religious or political in nature. 2. Any goods or services that are advertised should not have any defect or deficiencies of any form declared in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. 3. Products should not be portrayed in a way that misleads the public to infer that the item has some special, miraculous or a super natural quality, which is anyways difficult to prove. 4. Picture and the audible matter of the advertisement video should not be excessively 'loud'.

5. Advertisement should not endanger the safety of children or produce any sort of perversion or interest that prompts them to adopt or imitate unhealthy practices. 6. Any type of offensive, indecent, suggestive, vulgar, repulsive themes and/or treatment must be avoided under all circumstances.

Final Note
Unethical advertising methods use falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truthful facts to deceive the public. Remember, the golden words of David Ogilvy, the famous Ad Guru, "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself." The activities to which the provisions of the Code apply shall be performed with due diligence, in accordance with the prevailing standards of decency, with a due sense of social responsibility, and should conform to the principles of fair competition. The parties to agreements applying to advertising can construct their mutual legal relations at their own discretion, provided that such relations are consistent with the Code.

Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results (DAGMAR) model was proposed by Russel H. Colley in 1961 which states that before purchase prospect

goes through 4 steps viz., (i)Awareness, (ii) Comprehension, (iii) Conviction, and (iv) Action. These steps are also known as ACCA advertising formula.

ACCA/DAGMAR is a descendant of AIDA advertising formula and considered to be more popular and comprehensive than AIDA. Important parts of the DAGMAR model are definitions of Target Audience, (people whom the advertising message is addressed to) and Objectives (goals of advertising message). The another model named Attention- Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) of advertising seems to work very swiftly in case of kids and hence constitutes marketers prerogative.

Children are even seen as major influence in family purchases, being unreasonably vocal about their needs and wants, which are otherwise known as pester power or kidfluence. Pester power refers to childrens ability to nag their parents into purchasing items they may not otherwise buy. Good creative advertisement will always attract peoples attention, but they should have meaningful visual content and one shouldnt have an attitude to play with peoples sentiments and emotions. The activities to which the provisions of the Code shall be applied and performed with due diligence in accordance with the prevailing standards of decency as well as with a due sense of social responsibility. The codes should conform to the principles of fair competition. The parties to agreements applying to advertising can construct their mutual legal relations at their own discretion, provided that such relations are consistent with the Code.

Bibliography Books
Edward Spence and Brett Van Heekeren., Advertising Ethics ,NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. Spence, Edward;Van Heekeren, Brett., Advertising Ethics, Prentice Hall, 2006. Barbara MacKinnon., Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues - Concise Edition, Cengage Learning, 2010. Robin Landa., Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media, John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Maike Drk., Ethical Claims in Advertising, GRIN Verlag, Munich, 2011. S.A.Chunawalla, K.C.Sethea., Foundations of Advertising Theory & Practice, HPH, 2006. George E.Belch, Michael A.Belch., Advertising and Promotion, Tata McGrawhill, 2007. Rajeev Batra, John G.Meyers, David A.Aakar., Advertising Management, Pearson, 2006.

Articles
Michael R. Hyman, Richard Tansey and James W. Clark., Research on Advertising Ethics: Past, Present, and Future, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 23, No. 3, Sep, 1994, p.p. 5-15. Nimal C Namboodiripad., Ethics and Social Responsibility in Advertising, Advertising Express, September, 2004. Akhileshwar Pathak., Comparative Advertising in India: Need to Strengthen Regulations, Vikalpa, Vol.30,No.1, Jan-Mar, 2005, p.p.67-75. Ravindra K, Manish Kumar Srivastava, and AK Tiwari., Ethics in Advertising: An Endless Dillemma, Advertising Express, June, 2010. Minakshi Chauhan Asopa., Emerging Trends in Advertising, Advertising Express, Vol.XI, No.3, March, 2011.

Surjit Kumar Kaur, Contemporary Advertising Practice and Pester Power in India, Advertising Express, Vol.XI, No.6,June, 2011.

Websites
www.pia.gov.ph/philinfo/phadv.htm www.iupindia.in www.scdl.net www.iimahd.ernet.in www.ascionline.org www.ibscdc.org www.asa.co.nz/code_financial.php www.springerlink.com www.emeraldinsight.com