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Purvita Chatterjee

Mumbai, Aug. 20 Liquor companies such as United Breweries, Diageo India, United Spirits and Seagram were made to withdraw their ‘surrogate’ ads for the period between April and June this year.

The withdrawn ad in the case of United Breweries had an headline which read as ‘Where the Night Rocks’ with ‘packaged drinking water’ in fine print included the visual of a dancing couple.

According to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), “In the absence of specific information, the ad appears to be a surrogate as for a liquor brand” as the visual and headline did not bear any relevance to the product advertised.

Diageo India had to withdraw its Johnie Walker ad which showed the brand of the liquor mentioning CDs and cassettes and also mentioned “Red Label’. ASCI claimed the ad was a surrogate and was subsequently withdrawn by the company. Diageo’s other brand – Haig Vintage was also pulled up for its rally contest where the question posed was ‘When did Henry Ford perfect the assembly line?’ to which there were three choices given which could be answered through SMS. And the winner could win a ‘fantastic’ Haig Vintage/Classic car model.

ASCI claimed that the ad was misleading and that there was no proof or evidence of the claim/offer being complied with. The advertiser Diageo assured ASCI that no such ad will be released in the future to avoid any contravention of the ASCI code.

United Spirits’ ad for Antiquity wanted its consumers to ‘Indulge in Blue Antiquity’ and then mentioned cassettes and CDs but showed no visual depiction of the same.

The council felt the ad was suggestive of over consumption besides the fact that Blue Antiquity was the name of a liquor brand.

ASCI accused it of being a surrogate ad and subsequently the advertiser informed that the campaign would be suspended and the existing ads were withdrawn. Seagram India too has been picked up for its ad on The Chivas Life which mentioned CDs and cassettes with the phrases which indicated that it was a surrogate ad.

Other consumer products companies such as GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare also came under scrutiny.

Its Horlicks Exam Ka Bhoot Bhagao ad with claims about being essential for your health during exams was taken up by ASCI as a claim which needed to be substantiated. The council felt the claims made by the company for the Horlicks brand were misleading by its gross exaggeration and thereby the advertiser was made to discontinue its ad.

Nestle India’s Maggie Healthy Soups – Soup Powder with claims of ‘Happy Heart, Healthy Soups’ was also hauled by ASCI for its exaggerated claims.

The advertiser has assured appropriate modification of its press ad and promotional messages printed on its packs.

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