Majority of objectionable ads in H1 FY24 spotted in digital media: ASCI

Mumbai, Nov 22 (PTI) Almost four-fifths of objectionable advertisements during the April-September 2023 period were from the digital media, the industry's self-regulatory body ASCI said in a report on Wednesday.

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) said it has scrutinised 3,501 advertisements during the first half of the current fiscal, and the number of complaints stood at 4,491, higher by 27 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, when compared to the year-ago period.

Influencer cases contributed 22 per cent of the advertisements processed by ASCI, the report said, adding that the list of non-compliant cases included actor Amitabh Bachchan, who violated the code on eight counts.   From a sectoral perspective, healthcare was the most violative, accounting for 21 per cent of the advertisements, which were processed by the body, ASCI said.

The self-regulatory body attributed the same to the high volume of drugs and medicinal ads on digital media.

The healthcare category was followed by classical education and personal care at 18 per cent each, while gaming came next at 15 per cent.

Over three-fourths of the complaints were done suo-motu by the ASCI, while consumers came up with over 21 per cent, the report said.

The print medium accounted for 17 per cent of the violations in the list, led by digital media at 79 per cent, while television was only 3 per cent of it. PTI AA BAL BAL