Mumbai, India – The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has launched a new service called ‘Endorser Due Diligence’, a paid advisory which will feature ASCI’s expertise in advertising assessment, including technical claims that are part of the advertisement.
Through the service, ASCI has established a panel of experts, from over 20 disciplines, ranging from advertising regulation and legal, ayurveda, microbiology, electronics, market research, nutrition, dentistry, product formulations, financial services, and so on. Said panel will assess the representations, statements, and claims in the advertisement from a consumer and technical perspective, examine the evidence in support of the claim where necessary, and thereby help the endorser conduct their due diligence.
According to Subhash Kamath, chairman at ASCI, the ‘Endorser Due Diligence’ will be confidential and non-binding and will be issued in the name of the endorser.
“Endorsers, particularly celebrities, have a huge fan following and they enjoy the trust of millions of consumers. There is therefore a direct moral and now, legal responsibility that they bear to ensure that they do not make representations in ads that could be considered misleading. ASCI has always required celebrities to be mindful of what they endorse in advertisements, and now the law too, requires them to do due diligence in this regard,” Kamath said.
Through the service, the advertisements can be sent to ASCI at any stage, including pre-production. This ensures that the endorser can do their independent due diligence before the advertisement is produced.
Meanwhile, Manisha Kapoor, secretary general at ASCI, commented, “Endorsers may not always be experts when it comes to the products they push and the claims they make. The law makes endorsers liable for the advertisements they appear in, hence Endorser Due Diligence becomes a critical need. ASCI’s service that is speedy, confidential, and based on the assessment of a multi-disciplinary panel can help endorsers do their due diligence in a timely and comprehensive manner, ensuring that consumers are not misled and that the endorser too, fulfils their legal obligations.”
