Will not be easy to hold celebrities accountable for ad claims: experts

To hold celebrities accountable for brand claims may not be fair, believe talent managers.

The latest guidelines released by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) have put the onus of due dilligence to check on misleading or deceptive claims made by products on their brand ambassadors too.

Manish Porwal, Managing Director, Alchemist Marketing and Talent Solutions said, “There is no way an actor or a sportsperson can do due diligence and verify all the claims made by the products. It is not practical. This will only lead to endorsement deals becoming more expensive. It will also make celebrities more sceptical about signing up on future endorsement deals.”Since the Maggi controversy, a debate has been growing in the country, on the liability of brand ambassadors for endorsing companies or products that make misleading claims in their advertisements.

Tuhin Mishra, Managing Director of sports marketing firm Baseline Ventures added,, “If a product is getting sold off the shelf, the celebrity assumes that it has got all the necessary approvals and have been certified by the relevant authorities .” However others like Neerav Tomar, MD & CEO, IOS Sports and Entertainment pointed out that talent management firms already do the necessary evaluatation and research and checks before celebrities sign on the dotted line. But, there have been instances where celebrities have landed in a soup despite such checks and balances being in place. ASCI guidelines also state the products which by law requires health warning should not be endorsed by celebrities. It also said that the celebrities’ opinions reflected in advertisements should be based upon adequate information or experience with the product that is being advertised.Shweta Purandare, Secretary General, ASCI said, the objective of these guidelines is to educate celebrities so they can ensure they are not violating the ASCI code or other legislations like the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act.

“Celebrities can seek “Advertising Advice” from ASCI on whether an advertisement can potentially be a violation. Earlier, we were giving advertising advice only to our members. After these guidelines, we have opened it up to non-members too,” she added.

These guidelines come at a time when the government is looking to revamp the Consumer Protection Act and add provisions to make celebrities more accountable. As part of the review deliberations, earlier a jail term was being proposed. But now other penalities such as fines are being looked at.

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