|
Manufacturers
of liquor and tobacco products advertising on various TV channels
under the garb of surrogate advertising, beware.
The information and broadcasting ministry is in the process
of setting up a high-powered multi-ministerial committee to
look into the issue of surrogate advertising. What's more,
this time the government will also crack down on those brands
that use historical events like the famous Dandi march during
pre-independence days.
On the hit list, still being finalised, are big companies
advertising high profile products that, under the Indian laws,
are banned from being advertised. The list may include the
ad related to Dandi salt, Kamdhenu `sariyas' (iron strip rods),
Bacardi Blast music cassettes and CDs and various brands of
mineral and drinking water being manufactured by liquor/beer
companies. The total ad spend of surrogate advertising on
television is estimated at Rs 900 million annually.
"The
multi-ministerial committee, under the chairmanship of additional
secretary in the I&B ministry, will be constituted soon within
a few days. The agenda of the committee will be to look into
the issue of surrogate advertising and define what constitutes
such advertising which is quite rampant and is an insult to
public sensibilities," a senior government official told indiantelevision.com
yesterday.
A
senior executive of a media company running several popular
Hindi and English language channels admitted that if the government
is serious on cracking down on such surrogate advertising,
it will have some impact on the advertising revenues as liquor
companies in particular are in overdrive through surrogate
ads.
Indicating
that for the first time a serious look is being given to this
issue, the government official said that the committee will
include representatives, no less than that of a joint secretary
level in the government, from ministries of empowerment, law
and justice, home affairs and finance. "Apart from these,
there will representation from the Advertising Standards Council
of India (ASCI) and various NGOs through the ministries,"
the official said.
It
seems that stung by the inadequacy of broadcasters to address
this particular issue, the government has decided to take
the initiative. "After identifying some TV commercials in
particular which are on air and offend sensibilities, the
committee will recommend to ASCI to direct ad agencies concerned
to withdraw those commercials within a stipulated period of
time which will be very short," the official explained.
The
Dandi salt and Kamdhenu 'sariyas' have been identified as
commercials, which use historical events to promote products.
For instance, the latter highlights the tension between India
and Pakistan and the Agra meeting of Pakistan President and
the Indian Prime Minister to promote the products.
The
punchline of the commercial: we wish strong relationships
were built the way the way our products help build strong
buildings. "Such instances are deplorable and will not be
tolerated," the government official said.
The
broadcasters in the past had attempted to address the issue
of surrogate advertising, but nothing concrete had come out
of those initiatives.
Click here for Archives
| 
