Complaints against ads up 14%, highest came from ‘education’ domain: Report

Complaints against advertisers rose 14 per cent in the first six months of 2022-23 compared to the same period in 2021-22, a new report showed on Wednesday. Among the total 3,340 complaints processed, about 55 per cent of the objectionable ads were spotted in the digital domain, while 39 per cent were in the print domain. Five per cent of these were found on television (TV).

The half-yearly complaints report released by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) further showed that 2,764 complaints were filed in 2021-22. ASCI works towards self-regulation in advertising.

Out of all the violative digital ads, 27.4 per cent were from Instagram, and 24.3 per cent were shown on YouTube.

Education was the most violative sector. Out of the total, 27 per cent of complaints belonged to this sector. 22 per cent belonged to the classical education category, while 5 per cent were from the edtech sector.

It was followed by personal care at 14 per cent, the food & beverages sector at 13 per cent, and healthcare at 13 per cent of the total complaints.

“ASCI’s surveillance remains strong, picking up 65 per cent of the ads processed suo motu,” the report said. 16 per cent were filed by the consumers, while 15 per cent were registered by the government.

Moreover, 28 per cent of all the violations were by ‘influencers’. Of the 781 complaints processed against influencers, the report added that 34 per cent were from the personal care category, followed by food and beverage at 17 per cent, and virtual digital assets at 10 per cent.

87 per cent of these complaints about influencers were found to be violative of the Influencer Guidelines.

98 per cent of consumers’ complaints were received by the artificial intelligence-based complaints management system TARA.

“Looking at the rapid growth of digital advertising, we have invested heavily in ad-surveillance technology. We will continue to upgrade and streamline our processes to provide a more responsive platform to all stakeholders, including consumers, brands and government bodies,” Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary-general of ASCI, said.