[ad_1]
Two events, both in the course of the last week, turned the spotlight on advertising self-regulation, and by implication, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ascionline.in).
On May 25, ASCI updated the Code For Self-Regulation Of Advertising In India, more commonly called the ASCI Code, to cover “gender identity, sexual orientation, body type, age or physical and mental conditions in advertising depictions, a move aimed at making advertising more inclusive”. On June 2, an advertisement for a brand of deodorants caused a huge uproar on social media for its egregiously disgusting storyline, which seemed to actively promote rape culture. The matter soon came to the attention of ASCI and less than 12 hours after the brouhaha first erupted, it issued instructions to the advertiser and the broadcast media to immediately stop airing the offending execution. In doing so, ASCI deployed a rarely used provision available under the code: SPISuspend Pending Investigation.
The strange concatenation of these two events — one intended to advance self-regulation into areas which demanded attention but had not found explicit mention in the code, the other revealing the hideous underbelly of advertising in disgustingly unflattering light — should give every marketing communications professional in this country pause. To think long and hard about why we are here, and what we must do, individually and as a professional collective, to truly embrace self-regulation.
ASCI routinely faces criticism on a single point. That its complaint and adjudication process is so protracted that, inevitably, it shuts the stable doors long after the horse has bolted. The events of June 3 are as strong a repudiation of this chronic grumble as any but it is important to add a caution.
The SPI provision is designed to be used in what the law would describe as ‘rarest of the rare’ cases. It is not, and should never become, the primary tool in the self-regulatory arsenal. Indeed, it would do great disservice to the profession if it were to be so deployed. We shall return to this theme, momentarily.
ASCI has also been in critics’ crosshairs for appearing to be passive, even as issues of inclusivity and diversity have begun to occupy positions of prominence in public discourse. The ASCI code, around for over 30 years since it was adopted, has been a dynamic document, addressing areas of concern as they emerged over time. Today, the core of four chapters on Truthfulness, Decency, Prohibition of Harmful Products and Fairness in Competition has been supplemented by several guidelines for category-specific advertising. Automotive vehicle advertising is addressed, as is advertising of food products, brand extensions and education. Each of these extensions has resulted from a meticulous, if time consuming, process of gathering inputs from all stakeholders, then progressively distilling it into principles which, without exception, place the consumer at the very pinnacle of primacy, and ensure that she will be proactively guarded against mischief and misrepresentation.
Exactly such a process, only with even greater vigour and rigour, went behind the new work on inclusion and diversity. It may not be readily apparent to marketing communications professionals that ASCI was not established under a statute but was the result of a voluntary initiative by prescient leaders of the fraternity. While it has since been endorsed, even incorporated, into statute, and its decisions and rulings are treated as essentially pari passu with judicial rulings, it was not an enactment by statute. It is, in other words, a self-regulatory institution, adjunct to but independent of the judicial arm of the state. The bit which seems to get lost is this passage from the Preamble to the Code, titled “Responsibility for the observance of the code”.
“The responsibility for the observance of this Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising lies with all who commission, create, place or publish any advertisement or assist in the creation or publishing of any advertisement”.
ASCI was not, and should never become, an enforcer or policeman. Such behaviour would infantilise professionals who work in different arms of this large value-chain. It actually acknowledges them as discerning, discriminating, empathetic and, above all, honest adults, who can be trusted to do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do. A coercive self-regulator is an oxymoron. If I am a responsible member of the fraternity, I regulate what I do myself. I shouldn’t need a constable to constantly peer over my shoulder and rap me on my knuckles if I flouted the Code.
Which brings us back to why the SPI provision should always remain the last, and least used, tool in ASCI’s arsenal. The Layerr Shot campaign, which so correctly incensed every right minded individual, had to pass through all sorts of hoops before it aired on a television channel. A client commissioned a new campaign. A creative agency presented a storyboard. The client put this execution through an internal approval process. A production house was commissioned to produce the ad. A media agency recommended a media plan, then proceeded to dispatch copies of the ad to a number of broadcast outlets. These broadcasters put it through their internal S&P (standards and practices) system, to ensure that it did not fall foul of internal guidelines or statutory requirements.
And after jumping through all these hoops, the ad ran on some channel. Every single individual through this arduous journey was, is, supposed to be a component of the self-regulatory process. This was not an individual failure; it implicates a hundred different professionals in a dozen different organisations. SPI can and should only be deployed if all these checkpoints and guardrails fail to do what they were meant to.
The ASCI code is an articulation of the conscience of the marketing communications profession. It would harm its cause irreparably if it were to morph into just another piece of coercive, statutory muscle.
(The writer is a media professional. The Views expressed are personal)
[ad_2]
Source link
ESMO Asia 2019 Trastuzumab Biosimilar HLX02 Shows Activity in HER2 Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer overnight cialis delivery 8 million viewers overall and Back in the Game 1
But it also needs a strong helper, and you are the best choice generic cialis cost
I have been with Kaiser for the past year I like the whole system that Kaiser has since everything is done in Kaiser test team lab everything that needs to be done is done there the only thing that I don t like is no walk- ins make sure we call in every time we have to see doctor Park every time we have an appointment buy priligy in the us com 20 E2 AD 90 20Viagra 20Reseptfritt 20P 20Nett 20 20Viagra 20Femme 20Algerie 20Prix 202019 viagra reseptfritt p nett Then I had another encounter on the way home from China to Britain via California
SARMs have the potential to take the place of the androgens, and therefore exert many of the same positive effects on muscle tissue as anabolic steroids like testosterone how to get propecia prescription
salting of roads in winter resulting in deicing runoff viagra levitra cialis pour Total phenolic, flavonoid, and proanthocyanidin contents
different types of allergy medicine allergy medication without side effects tablet for allergy on skin
buy deltasone 40mg online buy generic prednisone over the counter
prescription heartburn pills glucophage 1000mg oral
progesterone only pill for acne buy accutane pills for sale prescription acne cream names
buy azithromycin online azipro 250mg sale azipro 250mg price
order clomiphene 50mg sale clomid medication clomid without prescription
buy tizanidine generic how to get tizanidine without a prescription zanaflex pills
buy prednisone 5mg generic buy prednisone 10mg without prescription order deltasone 40mg without prescription
purchase accutane pill order accutane 10mg order isotretinoin 40mg online
buy amoxil generic order amoxicillin online order amoxil 1000mg online
buy albuterol 4mg online buy albuterol generic buy albuterol online
zithromax over the counter generic azithromycin 250mg buy zithromax generic
buy clavulanate tablets augmentin 375mg drug augmentin 625mg oral
buy prednisolone 10mg generic purchase prednisolone online prednisolone 10mg without prescription
buy levothyroxine online levoxyl without prescription buy synthroid 75mcg online cheap
gabapentin price buy neurontin generic buy neurontin online
buy clomid 50mg online cheap clomid 100mg pills buy generic clomid over the counter
lasix price lasix 100mg pill purchase furosemide online
sildenafil 50mg usa real viagra pills order viagra online cheap
buy generic doxycycline for sale monodox brand monodox brand
slots online online poker doubleu casino
order levitra 10mg generic cheap vardenafil 20mg vardenafil 20mg cost
buy lyrica without a prescription generic pregabalin lyrica 150mg canada
order plaquenil generic order plaquenil sale order hydroxychloroquine generic
order generic aristocort buy generic triamcinolone over the counter aristocort 4mg cheap
cheap generic tadalafil tadalafil usa cialis 40mg without prescription
order clarinex pills buy clarinex 5mg without prescription clarinex pills
cenforce 100mg ca cenforce pill order cenforce 100mg generic
claritin 10mg generic loratadine online order brand claritin
order chloroquine pill buy chloroquine 250mg buy chloroquine 250mg sale
buy priligy 60mg pills buy misoprostol no prescription buy misoprostol
buy glycomet 1000mg generic purchase glucophage generic glucophage 500mg price
orlistat order purchase diltiazem generic buy diltiazem 180mg sale
buy zovirax paypal order zovirax 800mg generic zyloprim 300mg cheap
order norvasc online cheap amlodipine pills buy amlodipine 5mg sale
domperidone online order motilium cost sumycin 500mg pill
prilosec 10mg price omeprazole pills order generic prilosec
cyclobenzaprine 15mg for sale ozobax order ozobax us
buy metoprolol generic metoprolol 100mg ca buy generic lopressor 50mg
buy toradol 10mg sale colcrys 0.5mg canada purchase colchicine online cheap
order atenolol online order atenolol 100mg generic atenolol over the counter
buy inderal 20mg without prescription buy clopidogrel 150mg generic clopidogrel pills
buying an essay practice essay writing online edit letter
buy cheap methotrexate buy methotrexate 5mg generic buy generic medex
buy cheap generic metoclopramide order cozaar 50mg generic purchase hyzaar sale
order meloxicam 15mg buy meloxicam 15mg online cheap celecoxib brand
buy tamsulosin cheap buy cheap generic celebrex cost celebrex 200mg
order nexium 40mg pills generic nexium topiramate online
buy ondansetron 8mg pill order spironolactone 25mg generic spironolactone pills
brand dutasteride ranitidine 300mg usa cheap ranitidine
acillin sale buy penicillin without prescription buy generic amoxicillin online
finpecia pills finasteride uk order fluconazole 200mg generic
buy cipro 500mg for sale – myambutol online order buy generic augmentin
buy generic cipro 1000mg – purchase amoxiclav pills amoxiclav order
buy metronidazole generic – metronidazole ca buy zithromax medication
purchase ciprofloxacin – purchase doryx pills erythromycin 500mg ca
order valacyclovir 500mg pill – nemasole price zovirax pills
ampicillin price how to get amoxil without a prescription amoxicillin order online
zidovudine pill – allopurinol usa zyloprim without prescription
buy clozapine 50mg generic – oral accupril buy generic pepcid online
quetiapine online buy – trazodone 100mg tablet purchase eskalith pill
order generic atarax – buy pamelor 25 mg generic buy endep without a prescription
clomipramine pills – paroxetine ca sinequan medication
buy amoxil – erythromycin 500mg brand buy cipro 1000mg for sale
order generic augmentin 375mg – linezolid for sale online purchase cipro
buy clindamycin medication – order chloromycetin sale chloramphenicol tablet
oral zithromax 500mg – tindamax cheap ciplox 500mg canada
order albuterol 4mg generic – brand promethazine 25mg buy theo-24 Cr pills for sale
ivermectin 3mg online – doryx pill cefaclor 250mg us
clarinex for sale – buy flixotide nasal sprays albuterol cheap
depo-medrol order online – buy azelastine nasal spray for sale purchase azelastine sprayer
buy generic micronase for sale – buy micronase 5mg for sale how to get dapagliflozin without a prescription
order repaglinide 2mg generic – pill prandin 2mg buy jardiance 25mg for sale