Shraddha's Major Research Project

A STUDY ON DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING
AND HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE IT
A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE
OF
MASTER OF COMMERCE
(WITH SPECIALIZATION IN ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING SERVICES)
TO
GUJARAT UNIVERSITY
SUBMITTED BY
SHRADDHA RUHELA
(Roll No. 72)
UNDER GUIDANCE OF
DR. SHANKAR SODHA
SHETH DAMODARDAS SCHOOL OF COMMERCE
GUJARAT UNIVERSITY
AHMEDABAD
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The success of this research work attributes to many individuals who have helped, guided and
supported me throughout the research work.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank project guide Dr. Shankar Sodha for his constant
guidance and valuable inspiration throughout this project. Without his support, this report would
never have been possible.
I would like to thank all the responders under the study who took out their valuable time and
answered the questions asked. Sincere appreciations are due to all those who have been directly
or indirectly been associated with this project.
I would also like to extend my special thanks to Mr.Pankaj Sharma and Mr.Dhaval Nakum who
directly or indirectly helped me throughout this study.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Sr. NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is marketing? 10
1.2 Types of marketing strategies 13
1.3 Examples of deceptive practices in marketing 15
1.4 Advertising 16
1.5 Deceptive Advertising and Marketing 18
1.6 ASCI 24
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 27
2.1 Research Gap 30
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 32
3.1 Problem statement 32
3.2 Objectives of the study 33
3.3 Scope of the study 33
3.4 Research Design 33
3.5 Sampling Design 34
3.6 Research Tools 34
3.7 Limitations of the study 35
4 DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 Product 1: Kesh king ayurvedic oil 39
• 1.1 Influence of age on ability to remember the 41
advertisement
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• 1.2 Influence of age on the willingness to buy the 42
product on the basis of the advertisement
• 1.3 Influence of age on ability to find deception in the 44
advertisement
• 1.4 Influence of age on willingness of respondent to take 45
action against a deceptive ad
• 1.5 Influence of gender on ability to remember the 47
advertisement
• 1.6 Influence of gender on the willingness to buy the 48
• 1.7 Influence of gender on ability to find deception in the 49
advertisement
• 1.8 Influence of gender on willingness of respondent to 51
take action against a deceptive ad
• 1.9 Influence of occupation on ability to find deception in 52
the advertisement
• 1.10 Influence of occupation on willingness of respondent 54
to take action against a deceptive ad
• 1.11 Influence of education on the willingness to buy the 55
• 1.12 Influence of education on ability to find deception in 56
the advertisement
• 1.13 Influence of education on willingness of respondent to 58
4.2 Product 2: Amul Macho Garments

• 2.1 Ability of responder to guess what product is being 60
advertised by seeing the advertisement
• 2.2 Response of people to various questions in 61
questionnaire
• 2.3 Analysis of guesses made by respondents after seeing 62

both the advertisements
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• 2.4 Probability of responders discussing ad with friends 63
• 2.5 Relationship between willingness to buy product and 65

finding the advertisement deceptive
4.3 Product3: Garnier micellar water
• 3.1 Influence of age on ability to remember the 70
advertisement
• 3.2 Influence of age on the willingness to buy the product 721
on the basis of the advertisement
• 3.3 Influence of age on ability to find deception in the 72
advertisement
• 3.4 Influence of age on willingness of respondent to take 74
action against a deceptive ad
• 3.5 Influence of gender on ability to remember the 75
advertisement
• 3.6 Influence of gender on the willingness to buy the 77
• 3.7 Influence of gender on ability to find deception in the 77
advertisement
• 3.8 Influence of gender on willingness of respondent to 78
5 FINDING, S UGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Findings 80
5.2 Suggestions 83
5.3 Future scope of the study 84
5.4 Conclusion 85
6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 86
7 ANNEXURE 88
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LIST OF TABLES
Sr.No. Particulars Page no.

1 Table 1.1 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and 41
remembrance of ad
2 Table 1.2 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and willingness 42
to buy product 1
3 Table 1.3 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and ability to 44
find deception – product 1
to take action against deceptive ad (product-1)
5 Table 1.5 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and 47
remembrance of ad
willingness to buy product 1
7 Table 1.7 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and ability to 49
find deception – product 1
willingness to take action against deceptive ad (product-1)
9 Table 1.9 Cross- tabulation relationships between occupation and 52
ability to find deception – product 1
willingness to take action
11 Table 1.11 Cross- tabulation relationships between education and 55
willingness to buy product-1
ability to find deception – product 1
13 Table 1.13 Cross- tabulation relationships between education and 58
willingness to take action
14 Table 2.1 Cross- tabulation relationships between find ad deceptive 64
and ability of ad to induce purchase
15 Table 3.1 Percentage data of product 3 69
16 Table 3.2 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and 69
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remembrance of ad (product-3)
to buy product -3
to take action against deceptive ad (product-3)
remembrance of ad(product-3)
20 Table 3.6 Cross-Tabulation relationship of gender and willingness to 74
product-3
21 Table 3.7 Cross-tabulation relationship between gender and ability to 76
find deception (product-3)
willingness to take action against deceptive ad (product-3)
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LIST OF CHARTS
Sr.No. Particulars Page no.
1 Chart 1.1: Raw responses for product-1 40
2 Chart 1.2: Willingness to buy product 1 and age of responders 43
3 Chart 1.3: Willingness to take action against deceptive 46
advertisement and age of responders
4 Chart 1.4: Gender and ability to remember the advertisement 47
5 Chart 1.5: Willingness to buy product 1 and gender of responders 49
6 Chart 1.6: Ability to find deception in ad of product 1 and gender 50
of responders
7 Chart 1.7: Percentage within occupation and ability to find 53
deception
8 Chart 1.8: Occupation and will to take action against deceptive ad 55
9 Chart 1.9: Proportion of people of each education category and 57
ability to find deception
10 Chart 2.1: Raw responses for product-2 60
11 Chart 2.2: Relationships between questions about product-2 and 61
responses
12 Chart 2.3: Guesses of responder after watching both ad clips for 62
product-2
13 Chart 2.4: Probability of ad being discussed with friends 63
14 Chart 3.1: Raw data of product 3 68
15 Chart 3.2: Age-wise distribution of data relating to remembrance 70
of ad(product3)
16 Chart 3.3: Distribution within age group about willingness to buy 71
product 3
17 Chart 3.4:Willingness to take action against deceptive 74
advertisement and age of responders(product3)
18 Chart 3.5: Gender and ability to remember ad of product-3 75
19 Chart 3.6: Willingness to buy product 1 and gender of responders 76
(product-3)
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CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or
service fits him and sells itself.” ~ Peter F. Drucker
1.1 What is marketing?
Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as “the activity, set of institutions,
and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value
for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. The term developed from the original
meaning which referred literally to going to market with goods for sale. From a sales process
engineering perspective, marketing is “a set of processes that are interconnected and
interdependent with other functions of a business aimed at achieving customer interest and
satisfaction”.
Philip Kotler defined marketing as “Satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process”; and
a decade later defines it as “a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups
obtain what they want and need through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with
others.”
From various definitions given by scholars and different authors, we can simplify the definition of
marketing as all the activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product
or service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other
businesses. Some marketing is done by affiliates on behalf of a company.
When we talk about marketing as a discipline it involves all the actions a company undertakes to
draw in customers and maintain relationships with them. Networking with potential or past
clients is part of the work too, and may include writing thank you emails, playing golf with
prospective clients, returning calls and emails quickly, and meeting with clients for coffee or a
meal. It makes use of the “marketing mix,” also known as the four Ps—product, price, place, and
promotion. At its core, marketing seeks to take a product or service, identify its ideal customers,
and draw the customers’ attention to the product or service available.
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The difference between Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising and Branding is beautifully
depicted in the following cartoon figures.
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1.2 Types of marketing strategies
→ Strategy is the way in which a business, government, or other organization carefully plans
its actions over a period of time to improve its position and achieve what it wants. –
Cambridge Dictionary
Marketing strategy can be defined as the overall game plan of the business for reaching
prospective consumers and turning them into customers of the products or services the business
provides. Marketing strategies are used by businesses to promote their products and services. It is
basically focused on encouraging target population to buy those specific products and services.
The marketing strategies might be totally innovative or they can be previously tried or tested
strategies. Effective marketing strategies help to get ahead in the competition.
The external environment is uncontrollable for any business and is dynamic. Each business needs
different strategy to be on the top and to cope with the cut throat competition. There are different
types of marketing strategies available and a business has to pick one as per their requirement.
Cause Close Range Relationship Transactional

Marketing Marketing Marketing Marketing
(CRM)
Diversity Scarcity
Marketing Marketing
MARKETING
Mass STRATEGIES Viral
Marketing Marketing
Undercover Word of Mouth Call to Action

Marketing Marketing (CTA) Marketing
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Some of the strategies available to business are:
1.) Relationship marketing
This type of marketing is basically focused on customer building, enhancing existing relationships
with customers and improving customer loyalty. The companies focus on building relationships
with their customers instead of always exclusively trying to sell them something.
2.) Word of Mouth Marketing
Word-of-mouth Marketing is the passing of information from person to person by oral

communication. Customers are very excited to share with the world the brands they love. Word
of Mouth is one of the ancient ways people learned about what to purchase.
3.) Undercover Marketing
Sometimes not telling everyone everything can become a great source of buzz. Think of a movie
trailer that got you very excited to go see the movie. While not showing all the aspects of the
movie, the advertiser can create enough intrigue to drive viewers to want to see more.
4.) Cause marketing
Cause marketing links the services and products of a company to a social cause or issue. It is done
by a for-profit business that seeks to both increase profits and to better society in accordance with
corporate social responsibility, such as by including activist messages in advertising.
5.) Transactional marketing
In transactional marketing the retailers encourage customers to buy with shopping coupons,
discounts and huge events. It enhances the chances of sales and motivates the target audience to
buy the promoted products.
6.) Diversity marketing
It caters diverse audience by customizing and integrating different marketing strategies. It covers
different aspects like cultural, beliefs, attitudes, views and other specific needs.
7.) Scarcity Marketing
It is a marketing technique based on the principle that people want what is difficult to obtain. A
company may choose to make their products accessible to only a few customers. Rolls-Royce’s
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release of their Chinese edition car called Phantom sold quickly. While the cost of the car was
higher than most cars the scarcity drove the desire and the price.
1.3 Examples of deceptive practices in marketing
Marketing Field Deceptive Practices

Product -Use of trademarks and brands close to famous brands.
-Blocking important information about product
characteristics.
-Mix high quality products with inferior quality products and
sell them together as high quality.
-The information described on the products is insufficient to
judge them.
-The product is poorly packaged and may be damaged.
-Hide the country of origin and the claim of another country
of origin.
-To manipulate the date of validity of the products without
regard to consumer interest.
Price -Offer fake discounts on prices of products offered.
-Reduction in the prices of goods whose validity is nearing
completion.
-Put a high price on some products to inspire the consumer
that they are of high quality.
-Add sales tax on some non-taxable products from the base.
-Offer some products without mentioning the price on them,
to be able to sell at a high price.
-Put excessive price of some products on the basis that they
are famous brand.
Advertising -Advertising products with misleading and insufficient
information.
-The heavy advertising of some products as an attempt to
promote them in various ways, to drive the consumer to buy
them regardless of need.
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-Most competitions are advertised as fake and non-genuine,
whose primary purpose is to attract the consumer.
-Hide important information about the consumer through
advertising.
Distribution -Increase the prices of some products and claim to increase
prices from the source.
-The monopoly of the commodity for a certain period of time
to get the product at high prices to increase profits.
-Display products in a manner that inspires consumer to
think it is luxurious while it is not.
-The price of some products increased because they are sold
in high-end stores.
Sales Promotions -Fake competitions organized for consumers.
-Fake cuts in prices.
1.4 What is advertising?
In order to understand the meaning on deceptive advertisement, we should first define

advertisement. Advertising can be generally defined as the paid aspect of communication
addressed to the masses through various media.
The definition given by the American Marketing Association (AMA) is widely agreed definition
of advertising which states that “any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of
goods, services and ideas by an identified sponsor.” (Tyagi and Kumar 2004: 03) As defined by
Stanton, “advertising consists of all the activities involved in presenting to audience a non-
personal, sponsor identified, paid for message about a product or organization”.(Stanton
1969:723). In the statement defining advertising by Kotler –“Advertising is a non-personal form
of communication conducted through paid media under clear sponsorship.” (Kotler1999: 67)
From the few definitions given above we may come to a conclusion that advertising is
nothing but the dissemination of information regarding the goods and its source. Practically
looking at it, it is nothing but influencing someone’s opinion regarding the article or services to be
sold thereby inducing him to buy those goods or services. Advertising is one of the most integral
parts of a business entity. Organizations all around the world spend billions of dollars every
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year to promote their products and advertising is one of the tools to promote their product
globally. From biscuits to beauty products, from hospitals to health drinks, companies invest huge
amount of money in the advertisement of its products.
Advertisements play a critical role in the society as it sells products and educate consumers with
regards to its utility. One of the primary functions of advertisements can be informing the
consumer regarding the features of a product or service and there by bringing to him information
such as price, utility etc. of the product. The most important benefit of advertising is that it
reaches out to those consumers to whom a sales person cannot reach.
Advertising is a multidimensional activity. It is paid form of communication by a company or

organization that wants its information to disseminate. It can be seen on television, floaters in the
sky, sky-writing, in the newspapers, on the mails, on the vehicles and the list goes on also can be
heard on radios, FM‟s, in the shopping malls and so on.
Advertising is communicated through various mass media, including traditional media such as
newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor advertising or direct mail; and new media such
as search results, blogs, social media, websites or text messages. The purpose of any form of
advertising is to inform the consumers about their product and convince customers that a
company’s services or products are the best, enhance the image of the company, generate need for
products or services, demonstrate new uses for established products, announce new products and
programs, draw customers to the business, and to hold existing customers.
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1.5 Deceptive Advertisement and Marketing
Many consumers view deception as an inherent element of contemporary marketing activities.

Unfortunately, this belief has supporting evidence and is more and more justified by conclusions
of marketing research and practice. In a single year ASCI, the regulatory body for advertising
hears loads of customer complaints against a number of ads on different Medias and also bans so
many ads on different grounds.
As per Aaker, deception is found when an advertisement is input into the perceptual
processes of some audience and the output of that process (a) differs from the reality of the
situation and (b) affects the buying behavior to the detriment of the consumer. Gardner points
out that, where an advertisement is construed as deceptive by a consumer, a very important
role is played by the consumer’s existing beliefs and experiences which interact with the
advertisement which he has been exposed to. Considering deceptive advertisement as a
behavioral construct Gardner states that:
→ if an advertisement (or advertising campaign) leaves the consumer with an impression or

belief different from what would normally be expected if the consumer had reasonable
knowledge, and that the impression and/or belief is factually untrue or potentially
misleading, then deception is said to exist.
Deceptive marketing can take many forms where organizations can deceive consumers or hide
important information about the product, the price or even in their promotion. Deceptive
marketing is the use of false and/or misleading information to capture the attention of the
consumer through the usage of false information to persuade buyers into a business transaction
that will not typically be beneficial to you but “yes” beneficial to the one doing the deceptive
advertising.
There are many marketing practices that reflect the existence of such a deception, and consumers
are aware of this, but they are unable to detect it, and consequently they are unable to avoid it, so
they are exposed to it and affect their purchasing decisions one way or another, (Kamlot, 2018).
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1.5.1 Major Ethical Issues in Indian Advertising
There exist various issues related to advertising categorized based on the negative effects like
covering-up the facts, false testimonials, misleading comparisons, deceptive etc. on Indian
consumers.
1. Concealment of Facts
Hiding the facts about the product is the major ethical issue on which most of the advertisements
are criticized. Advertisers usually tend to suppress information about the product and show only
the best and brighter side of the product. Such advertisements hide the facts that could probably
lead to failure of the product.
2. Use of sex appeal
The portrayal of women as the object of desire seems to be a popular trend in recent days.
Portraying women as a sex object and display their figurative body to sell products is an example
of sexual exploitative advertisements.
(Source: www.googleimages.com)
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3. Advertisements using children
Advertisers are using children to promote the products or services which are not meant for
children but for adults. There are various advertisements where advertisers are utilizing children
as they have become a strong influencing force for the parents in the recent times. Some
advertisements try to convince children to purchase the advertised product which is considered
to be unethical as the children as innocents and targeting innocents is considered wrong.
4. Using inappropriate stereotypes
Generally, in Indian advertisements men are portrayed as strong, independent, etc. and women
are portrayed as softer, empathetic, dependent etc. but sometimes women are portrayed as
childlike, indecisive, obsessed with their own physical appearance, submissive to men, simple
housewives, etc. elderly people are shown as dependent on their children, burden for their
children, etc. which is also considered to be unethical.
(Source: www.googleimages.com)
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5. Subliminal Advertising
For the past many years the Fair & Lovely advertisements have been portraying fame &
fortune are related to fairness and beauty. According to their claims in advertisements, a tube of
their fairness cream will bring huge success. It also suggests that fair & beautiful girl gets the boy.
According to their claim, educational qualification is not required to get a job but the main
qualification for a woman to get a job is the way she looks, which subconsciously convey the
message that dark-skinned people cannot be successful in their personal life as well as
professional life. However, many are of the opinion that Fair & Lovely has violated Indian
Advertising ethics by insulting the majority of dark-skinned Indian women.
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1.5.2 Deceptive practices observed in advertising.
i) Bait-and-switch offers
In such offers the advertiser advertises a lower, less expensive type of product, but when
the customer requests for this product the same is said to be unavailable, and therefore the
customer is made to switch to a higher, usually a more expensive product.
(ii)False promises
Impossible promises are made through advertisements. These promises cannot be fulfilled,
because they are impossible to perform. For example, Food yoga Health Clinic advertisement
promised a loss of 15 Kgs in 3 months with no dieting, no exercise and no medicine. It was
found to be deceptive by ASCI because it was impossible to achieve the said target.
(iii)False testimonials
The use of celebrities to endorse a product in-order to lure a customer is seen as a very common
advertising technique. In such form of advertisements, the celebrity often claims to have used the
advertised product and guarantees its quality, usefulness etc.
(iv)Misleading comparisons
Certain advertisement claims which make a comparison and which are difficult to verify fall
within this category. For example, a claim by a jeweler that his gold is the best quality gold in the
world is difficult to prove.
(v)Visual distortions
The depiction of products in sizes different from the original product, or color or brightness
different from the original one to be sold can be called visual distortion. For example, in cases of
online purchase it is found that products such as dress materials etc. are shown in very bright
colors but when the consumer actually sees the product, she realizes that it is nothing similar to
what she saw on the website.
(vi) Partial disclosures
In these kind of advertisements certain selected features of a given product are advertised and
certain other related features which are not so attractive are not mentioned. For example, a
mobile phone is advertised as having battery life of twenty-four hours and costs just
Rs.10,000. But what is not mentioned in the advertisement is the requirement of a special
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charger for which payment has to be made separately over and above the cost stated in the
advertisement.
vii) Fine print qualifications
Important conditions to a certain claim in an advertisement is given in small print. This

leads to deception as important conditions escape the notice of the consumer. For example,
a product such as chyawanprash their packaging claims that it provides “3 times more immunity”.
The fine print says that the claim of “3 times more immunity” is based on “preclinical study on
NK cells”. Preclinical studies mean that it has not been tested on human yet.
(viii)False comparisons
The comparison of two dissimilar products in order to show that the advertiser’s product is
superior on certain compared characteristics. For example, if two soaps are compared for their
germ fighting features, where one is an antiseptic soap and the other is a beauty soap, the
comparison can be categorized as false comparison.
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1.6 THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA
Indian customers face a lot of deceptive marketing on a daily basis, to guard their interest and to
protect them from such marketers ASCI was formed to keep a check on such marketing. The
concept of deceptive advertisement was evolved by the courts over a period of time. New
dimensions were added to the concept of deceptive advertising by different courts and tribunals.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Founded 1985
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Chairman Rohit Gupta
ASCI is a self-regulatory body which deals with advertising in India. ASCI is a non-statutory
body created to ensure ethical practices in advertising and is composed of advertiser’s, media,
advertising agencies and other professional/ancillary services connected with advertising. It co-
regulate and curb misleading and objectionable advertisements along with government bodies
such as The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI), Ministry of AYUSH as well as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
ASCI has also developed an ASCI Code, which is voluntarily adhered to by those in the
industry but is in no way mandatory. It seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code
for Self-Regulation, which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful and not
hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition. ASCI looks into complaints across
ALL MEDIA such as Print, TV, Radio, hoardings, SMS, Mailers, Internet / web-site, product
packaging, brochures, promotional material and point of sale material etc.
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Board of
Governors
The
ASCI
Team
Consumer
Complaints
Secretariat
Council
(CCC)
ASCI has 16 members in its Board of Governors, four each representing the key sectors such as
Advertisers, advertising agencies, media and allied professions. Anybody can file a complaint with
the ASCI; the CCC’s decision on complaint against any ad is final. ASCI also has its own
independent Secretariat of 5 members which is headed by the Secretary General.
There is no other non governmental body in India which regulates the advertising content that is
released in India. If an ad that is released in India seems objectionable, a person can write to ASCI
with their complaint. This complaint will be deliberated on by the CCC after providing due process
to advertiser to defend the ad against the complaint and depending on whether the ad is in
alignment with the ASCI code and law of the land, the complaint is upheld or not upheld and if
upheld then the ad is voluntarily either withdrawn or modified.
The ads which gives false hope to customers, plays with their emotions, exaggerate the results of a
product etc. impacts the customers buying behavior and in turn increases (or decreases) the sales
of the business. The need for a regulatory body like ASCI is inevitable. ASCI as a self-regulatory
body governing advertising content is the ideal medium as its purpose is to serve both the
advertisers as well as the consumers.
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CHAPTER 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW
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LITERATURE REVIEW
▪ Anusorn Singhapakdi 1999: “Perceived importance of Ethics and Ethical Decisions in

Marketing” investigated the influences of perceptions regarding the importance of ethics
and social responsibility on ethical intentions of marketing professionals along with their
perceived ethical problems. It was believed the marketers must act in the best long term
interests of consumers and society.
Inthelongrunethicsandsocialresponsibilityhadpositiveimpactsonthesuccessofanorganizati
on.
▪ Sina et al., 2017 : The study reports some damaging effects of deceptive marketing, also
the consumers become more skeptical about the marketing practices of different
organizations as a result of these practices. Moreover, the study suggests that the
business organizations that engage in marketing deception will suffer large losses in the
long term. It concludes that, these practices are a waste of consumer resources and the
economic resources for society as a whole.
▪ Debasmita Dey: In “A research paper on Deceptive Advertising Practices” suggests that
Deceptive advertising has taken its place all over the corporate world to persuade its
target audience and consumers for buying their products whereas, any advertising that
leads the consumer to make purchase decisions based on false assumptions about the
price and quality of competitive products is considered deceptive practice and is
punishable by law.
▪ Nashid Bintey Hayder: Undertook a study in Deceptive Advertising and Purchase Behavior
of University Students: A Study on Skin-Care Products in Bangladesh The study aimed at
determining the deceptive advertising provided by different skin care products in
Bangladesh. It takes into account the purchasing behavior is difference between male and
female students. The study concluded that in Bangladesh current system of legal
protection to the consumers from deceptive advertisement is inadequate and outdated.
Study finds evidence that a positive and significant correlation exists between deceptive
advertising factors and the buying behavior of university students towards skin care
products which means that as deception in skin care ads increases, the impact on the
buying behavior of university students towards skin care products also increases.
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▪ John Cawley, Rosemary Avery and Matthew Eisenberg: Undertook a study to estimate the
impact of exposure to deceptive advertising on consumption of the advertised product and
its substitutes. They studied the market for over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss products
and the study concluded that they find no evidence that exposure to additional ads affects
the probability of using OTC weight loss products. They also find evidence that deceptive
television advertising of OTC weight loss products is associated with a lower probability
that women consume such products.
▪ Michael S. LaTour (2009): In the paper examines the impact of mood on consumers’
implicit and explicit responses to false advertising. Their experiments showed that
episodic information viewed once (the false ad information) decays at a faster rate than
consequential personal information (childhood memories and feelings cued by the ad and
the mood induction video). When there was a short delay between the ad viewing and
written response (to clear working memory), detection of the false information decreased
substantially and was accompanied by more acceptance of the false information in the
categorization task. The study concluded that found that mood had both explicit and
implicit effects on reactions to the false advertising.
▪ Krishna Prasad Shetty. K (2007): In the study tried to analyze the tone of the
advertisement-based communication and assess whether it is informational
persuasion to enable rational decisions or emotional persuasion to take impulsive
decisions. The findings showed that Children are becoming soft targets to endless
commercials, making them to develop unhealthy food habits and affecting their right to
learn what is actually good for them. Advertisements portraying women are said to
have failed in acknowledging the multiple roles played by women in today’s society and
instead they are reinforcing archaic gender stereotypes.
▪ Tina K. Stephen: In her study “control of deceptive advertisements in India” observed
several deficiencies in the present Indian legal and self-regulatory system. The
laboratories are in a very bad state as most of these laboratories are under staffed. Many
have not yet become fully operational and many of them still do not have the proper
infrastructural support for conducting any testing. There is no effective mechanism for
pre-publication screening and monitoring of advertisements in India.
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▪ Najeeb Ullah, Mustansar Hussain (2015 vol.1 issue 4): Study the effect of Unethical
advertising, misleading information or deception and stereotyping advertising impact on
Customer purchase intention with mediating effect of word-of -mouth (WOM) in
Pakistan.
▪ Preston,1967: Individuals prefer their beliefs to be true, and if consumer is misled by
advertisement, then the consumer claims and inconspicuous claims lead to significantly
higher levels of false beliefs than did the true or no information claims.
Consumers constantly misconstrue some types of advertisement claims and that the
implication drawn from questionable claims are treated as factual.
▪ Burke et al. (1988): In the study about attribute claims of ibuprofen based brands, examine
four types of claims no attribute information, truth, expansion implications, and
inconspicuous qualification implications. They find that expansion and inconspicuous
qualification implications increase respondents false attribute beliefs about headache pain
relief, side effects, and speed of relief.
▪ Imran Sayed: “An Empirical Research on Misleading Advertisements and Its Impact on
Consumer Buying Behavior” from the responses received and by conducting a chi-square
test on the first hypothesis, it was observed that there is a strong relationship between
misleading ads and consumer purchase. It was also found out that females make a
more informed decision, but their source of information is usually the advertisements or
word-of-mouth information from peers or other reference group. The younger age group
were more susceptible to the misleading ads and this was the same age group that indulge
in impulsive purchases.
Page | 29
2.1 Research Gap
While doing the literature review it was found that numerous studies have been done in the field
of (a) perceived importance of ethics and ethical decisions in marketing, (b) on misleading
advertisements and its impact on consumer buying behavior, (c) effect of unethical advertising
or deception and stereotyping on customer purchase intention and (d) the impact of mood on
consumers’ implicit and explicit responses to false advertising.
However there are very few studies that tried to find the long-term impact of misleading
advertisements on the mind of viewers. There are not many studies that show how much people
remember the banned ads even when they are not broadcasted anywhere.
Also, we did not find any studies on the ability of viewers to know if the advertisement is
deceptive. In this study we try to find how many people actually understand that the
advertisement is misleading and how many are willing to take action against unethical
advertisements.
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CHAPTER 3:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Page | 31
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Cambridge dictionary defines research as a process “to study a subject in detail, especially in
order to discover new information or reach a new understanding”. Research is “creative and
systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection,
organization, and analysis of information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue.
A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be
used to develop further knowledge on a topic; they can be used to further a student’s research
prowess to prepare them for future jobs or reports.
Before beginning any study, it is very important to lay down the research methodology followed
throughout. A well-planned and well-organized research methodology helps to complete the
research successfully. Research methodology includes problem statement, objectives of the
study, research design, sampling design, questionnaire design, field work plan, research tools
and analysis plan. Let’s discuss each one in detail below.
3.1Problem Statement
In today’s market the level of competition has rose to such a level that a marketer is willing to do
anything to gain an edge or stand out. One on them is using manipulative or deceptive marketing.
Many studies have been taken up to find the relation between unethical marketing and buyer’s
behavior but only a few have entered the area of psychological understanding of consumers of
such marketing. This study tries to identify if the viewers or the consumers can find the hidden
deception in the advertisement. This study is unique in the sense that it tries to analyze the
smartness of the advertiser who includes the misleading information in the advertisement in such
a way that majority of consumers don’t even find the advertisement deceptive and ultimately end
up liking or buying the product. This study also tries to identify the relation between age, gender
and education qualification with the customer’s ability to identify the deceptive advertisement.
The research work also tries to study if the deceptive advertisement is more remembered and
grabs more attention.
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3.2 Objectives of the study
1. To understand the concept of deceptive advertising.
2. To find out the ability of respondents to tell the deception in the advertisements showed.
3. To analyze the relation between the respondents ability to find deception and demographic
profiles.
4. To analyze if the respondents take action against the deceptive advertisements.
5. To find out the level of influence deceptive ads have on the respondents.
6. To analyze the frequency and the probability of respondents to buy the product based on the
deceptive advertisement.
3.3 Scope of the study
The study undertaken here aims to explore the area of deceptive advertising where data from 160
respondents was collected to understand the impact and influence that a false advertisement have
on the respondents. For the purpose of study the data is collected from February 2020 to March
2020. This study is useful to understand the awareness of the consumers about how they are
manipulated by the marketers. This study also tries to find out how many customers are
responsible enough and willing to report such false advertisements showed on any platform. The
findings of the study could be useful for the advertisers to avoid using false and misleading
information and also to ASCI to know how consumers respond to such ads, so that it can form
policies to keep check on such advertisers.
3.4 Research Design
For the purpose of this study an exploratory research design was used to identify the level of
awareness & to explore the response towards deceptive advertisements of various respondents.
To meet this core objective of the study a qualitative approach to research is applied by
using survey design among viewers from different age groups and occupations. For this study
a questionnaire in Google form was prepared & forwarded to numerous target respondents by
using convenience sampling through E-mail & Social Media during February 2020 to March
2020. The responses on 160 questionnaires were received & recorded. To know the relationship
different demographic variables and ability to differentiate the deceptive ads and the ability to
Page | 33
remember the ad, Chi-square test is used. To know that whether there is any relationship or not
between level of awareness, perception about the deceptive advertisement, attitude towards
taking action against it, and demographical variables of respondents the Chi-Square test, and
cross tabulation is used.
3.5 Sampling Design
The target populations for the study were the advertisement viewing audience. As the total
population is unknown Non-Probability sampling method was used for sample selection. To
collect the primary data, structured questionnaires were distributed and Google forms were
forwarded to numerous target respondents through E-mail and Social Media. In total 160
responses were received & recorded from all over the country.
3.6 RESEARCH TOOLS
After the collection of the relevant data through questionnaires and secondary sources, different
types of statistical techniques have been used to analyze the data in this study.The data has been
analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS 20).
The data has been presented and analyzed in the form of tables, charts, using the
a. Google form
b. (SPSS 20)
c. Crosstab – Frequencies
Crosstab –Frequencies
One of the easiest statistics to compute is the frequency. A frequency is the number of
occurrences in a single variable. In other words, it is a count of individual responses. The cross
tabulation of frequencies for variables are determined for further analysis using IBM SPSS
Statistics 20 and MS Excel.
Percentage
Percentages explain information as a proportion of the whole. Percentages are calculated by

taking the number of the subcategory and dividing by the total number in the population.
Percentage analysis is used for better understanding of collected data and to make them easily
comparable.
Page | 34
3.7 Limitations of the study
1.The results of the study may not be completely generalized on whole population because
the sample was restricted to 160 respondents . .
2. As total population is unknown Non-Probability sampling method is used it does not give
known chance of selecting to each sample.
3. Convenience sampling is used for data collection which may not be proportionate in selecting
sample.
4. As the sources of data collection is primary (questionnaire) researchers bias consciously or

unconsciously may affect in data collection.
5. The data is collected within the limited time period during February 2020 to March 2020.
6. There is no availability of larger range of scientific literature, which may lead to limited
access to literature.
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CHAPTER 4:
DATA ANALYSIS
Page | 36
DATA ANALYSIS
In a research study when we collect data from the respondents, what we receive is the raw data.
Raw data is data that has not been processed for use. Raw data, also known as primary data, is
data collected from a source. It is the data that has not been subjected to processing, “cleaning” by
researchers to remove outliers, obvious instrument reading errors or data entry errors, or any
analysis; as well, raw data has not been subject to any other manipulation by a software program
or a human researcher, analyst or technician.
For a study to give meaningful results it is necessary to arrange the data in a way that it gives
meaningful insights. Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modeling
data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusion and supporting
decision-making. Data analysis is an important element of any research as the data is analyzed as
per the requirements of the research and valuable findings can be traced out from the analysis.
The analysis of data is the most skilled task in the research process.
In this chapter the data collected through questionnaire is coded in the excel sheet and with the
help of excel formulas and SPSS crosstab the collected data is summarized and presented in
frequencies, tables, pie charts and bar charts wherever necessary. The reduction of data
facilitates further analysis and makes exact descriptions possible. The present study made use
of statistical analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics 20 package.
In the current study the questionnaire used collects data on 3 different products. The analysis of
the data received is therefore undertaken product wise and then compared to get a conclusive
answers.
Page | 37
Raw Data
In total 160 responses were received from the respondents, which can be showed gender wise as
follows:
GENDER FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Female 80 50%
Male 80 50%
Total 160 100%
EDUCATION QUALIFICATION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Secondary and Higher Secondary Education 11 6.9%
Graduate 92 57.5%
Post Graduate 53 33.1%
Doctoral Degree 04 2.5%
Total 160 100%
OCCUPATION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Self Employed 14 8.8%
Corporate/Government 38 23.7%
Employee
Student 93 58.1%
Homemaker 4 2.5%
Other 11 6.9%
Total 160 100%
Page | 38
4.1 PRODUCT 1: KESH KING HAIR OIL
The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of the Advertising Standards Council Of India (ASCI) has
banned as many as 62 advertisements out of the 126 complaints it received across segments
during June 2017, said a report by “The Moneylife”.
If an ad that is released in India seems objectionable, a person can write to ASCI with their
complaint. This complaint will be deliberated on by the CCC after providing due process to the
advertiser to defend the ad against the complaint and depending on whether the ad is in
alignment with the ASCI code and law, the complaint is upheld or not upheld; if upheld, the ad is
voluntarily either withdrawn or modified.
❖ One of the advertisements banned by ASCI was Emami Ltd’s – Kesh King Shampoo and
Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil, The ad claims “No hair fall, dandruff or dryness”, were not
substantiated and most claims made in the advertisement were false and misleading. A
certain celebrity made claims in the ad which was false and misleading. Further, the
advertiser did not submit any evidence of the celebrity lending her name to this particular
communication.
→ The ability of respondents to know if the ad was deceptive and their willingness to take any
action among other things is determined on the basis of following 4 questions:
• Do you remember this ad?
• Would you buy the product based on seeing this ad?
• Do you consider the ad deceptive or unethical?
• Would you take any action against the advertiser, if you find this ad deceptive?
Page | 39
Responses received
Chart 1.1: Raw responses for product-1
RESPONSES
Yes N0 Not sure
112
84 83
81
51
43
37 39
34
30 28
18
Do you remember this Would you buy the Do you consider the ad Would you take any
ad? product based on seeing deceptive of unethical? action against the
this ad? advertiser, if you find this
ad deceptive ?
Yes 70% 23.1% 17.5% 21.2%

No 18.75% 52.5% 50.6% 51.9%
Not 11.25% 24.4% 31.9% 26.9%
sure
KEY TAKEAWAYS
→ Despite the advertisement being approximately 3 years old a majority i.e. 70% of the
respondents remembered the advertisement. This suggests that the advertisement was
successful in make some level of impact on minds of viewers.
→ Though 112(70%) of 160 respondents remembered the advertisement, only 37(23%) said
they would buy the product based on the advertisement as against 52% who said they
would not buy the product. We could say that it was able to attract customers but was not
able to retain customers or induce potential buyers to buy the product.
Page | 40
→ The advertisement makes huge claims regarding “No hair fall, dandruff or dryness”, which
were later found not to be true by ASCI. Despite the boastful claims majority of the viewers
(50%) did not find the advertisement deceptive and (32%) were not sure. This suggests
that the advertisers chose the peripheral mode of communication to distract viewers from
the facts.
→ The data shows that not many respondents will report the advertisement even if they
found it deceptive. 21.2% said they would report it, 51.9%said they will not and 26.9%
were not sure. This might suggest that most of the people are ignorant of unethical
advertisements or don’t want to take the pain of reporting them.
1.1 Influence of age on ability to remember the advertisement
Table 1.1 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and remembrance of ad
Respondents ability to remember the ad of Total

product 1
yes No Not sure

Age of the 18- 102 21 15 138
respondents 25
26- 6 8 2 16
35
36- 3 0 0 3
45
46- 1 1 1 3
55
Total 112(70%) 30(18.75) 18(11.25) 160
Page | 41
ANALYSIS
From the above table we can see that from the 160 responders 138(86.25%) are under the age group
of 18-25 years, 16(10%) are in the age group of 26-35 and 3(1.875%) each in categories 36-45 and 46-
55. Among the age group of 18-25, 102 out of 138 remembered the advertisement 21 said they do not
remember while 15 were not sure. In the category of 26-35, 6respondents out of 16 said they
remembered the ad 8 did not while 2 were not sure. In 36-45 age group all 3 respondent remembered
the ad while in 46-55 age group respondents 1 remembered 1 did not and 1 was not sure.
REMARKS
→ The analysis of the data shows us that majority of the responders are from the age group 18-25
i.e. 86.25% responders. Among this age group majority responders i.e.102 (73.9%) said they
remembered the ad.
→ All the responders i.e. 100% in age group 36-45 years remembered the advertisement.
→ In age group 26-35 there were more people who did not remember the ad (8)- 50%, than those
who did(6)-37.5% while 2(12.5%) where not sure.
1.2 Influence of age on the willingness to buy the product on the basis of the
advertisement
Table 1.2 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and willingness to buy product 1
Age of the respondents Respondents willingness to buy product Total

1
yes No Not sure

18-25 30 72 36 138
26-35 5 10 1 16
36-45 1 0 2 3
46-55 1 2 0 3
Total 37 84 39 160
Page | 42
ANALYSIS
The table above shows the relationship between the age of the responder and his/her willingness to
buy the product on the basis of seeing the advertisement. The overall result shows that out of 160
responders majority (84) of them won’t buy the product on the basis of the advertisement shown i.e.
52.5% while 37 of them (23%) said they would buy the product and another 39 were not sure ( 24.4%)
about what they would decide.
Chart 1.2: Willingness to buy product 1 and age of responders
70.00%
60.00%
Percentage among age group
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
yes 21.70% 31.20% 33.30% 33.30%
No 52.20% 62.50% 0.00% 66.70%
Not sure 26.10% 6.20% 66.70% 0.00%
The table and the chart also indicate that within the age group of 18-25, 21.7% said they would buy
product-1, 52.2% said they will not while 26.2% were not sure. In 26-35 maximum (62.5%) said they
will not buy the product while 31.2% said they would and a marginal 6.2% said were not sure. In 36-45
category 33.3% said they would buy and 66.7% were not sure while in 46-55 category, 33.3% were
willing to buy majority (66.7%) were not willing to but product-1.
Page | 43
REMARKS
→ In all the age categories majority of responders were not willing to buy the product after seeing
the advertisement , except in 36-45 age group were majority was not sure.
→ In the age group of 26-45 there was no respondent who was not willing to buy , they were
either willing or unsure.
1.3 Influence of age on ability to find deception in the advertisement
Table 1.3 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and ability to find deception – product 1
Age of the respondents If respondents found the ad deceptive product 1 Total
Yes No Not sure
18-25 26 67 45 138
18.8% 48.6% 32.6% 100.0%
26-35 2 11 3 16
12.5% 68.8% 18.8% 100.0%
36-45 0 3 0 3
0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 100.0%
0 0 3 3
46-55
0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Total 28 81 51 160
17.5% 50.6% 31.9% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
In the above table, relationship between age and responder’s capability to find the deception in the
advertisement of product-1 is shown. Overall 17.5% of the total responders were able to find the ad
deceptive while 50.6% i.e. the maximum responders were not able to find the ad deceptive and 31.9%
were not sure if ad was deceptive. In 18-25 age group, 26(18.8%) found the ad deceptive while
67(48.6%) did not and 45(32.6%) were not sure. In 26-35 category 2(12.5%) found the ad deceptive
while 11(68.8%) did not and 3(18.8%) were not sure. All (100%) responders in age group 36-45 did not
find anything unethical or deceptive. Similarly in group 46-55, 100% respondents were not sure if ad
was deceptive or not.
Page | 44
REMARKS
→ Majority of the respondents overall as well as within each age category fail to find the
advertisement deceptive.
→ The highest no. of people who were able to find the deceptiveness in the advertisement were
in the age group 18-25 i.e. 26 out of total 138 in that category.
→ Both in age group 36-45 and 46-55, none of the respondent found the ad deceptive.
1.4 Influence of age on willingness of respondent to take action against a deceptive ad
Table 1.4 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and willingness to take action against deceptive
ad (product-1)
Age of the respondents If respondents take action against deceptive ad product 1 Total
Yes No Not sure
18-25 27 74 37 138
26-35 6 6 4 16
36-45 0 2 1 3
46-55 1 1 1 3
Total 34 83 43 160
ANALYSIS
take action if they find the ad deceptive. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders majority
(83) of them won’t take any action i.e. 51.87% while 34 of them (21.25%) said they would take some
action and another 43 were not sure ( 26.87%) about what they would decide.
Page | 45
Chart 1.3: Willingness to take action against deceptive advertisement and age of responders
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
Yes 19.60% 37.50% 0.00% 33.30%
No 53.60% 37.50% 66.70% 33.30%
Not sure 26.80% 25% 33.30% 33.30%
The table and the chart also indicate that within the age group of 18-25, 19.60% said they would take
action against the deceptive ad, 53.6% said they will not while 26.8% were not sure. In 26-35 37.5%
were willing to take action and 37.5% were not willing while 6.2% said were not sure. In 36-45 category
66.7% said they would not take any action and 33.3% were not sure while in 46-55 category, 33.3%
respondents were in each alternative.
REMARKS
→ It’s clear that not many respondents are willing to take action as only 34 out 160 said they will
take some action i.e.21.25% of the total respondents.
→ There was no respondent in the age group of 36-45 who was willing to take some action.
→ We can say tendency to take action against deceptive ad is less in older people as in age from
36-55 there were 6 respondents out of which only 1 was willing to take action i.e. 16.67% only
within this age bracket.
Page | 46
1.5 Influence of gender on ability to remember the advertisement
Table 1.5 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and remembrance of ad
Gender of respondents Respondents ability to remember the ad of Total

product 1
Yes No Not sure
Female 57 14 9 80
Male 55 16 9 80
Total 112 30 18 160
ANALYSIS
The above table depicts the relationship between gender of the respondent and the ability to
remember the ad. We can see there is no significant difference between male and female
respondent’s answers. 57 out of 112 respondents who remembered the ad were female (50.9%) and
55 male (49.1). Among 30 respondents who did not remembered the ad 14 were female (46.66%) and
16 male (53.4%). There were 18 respondents who were not sure if they remember the ad where 50%
were female and 50% male.
Chart 1.4: Gender and ability to remember the advertisement
Female Male
Yes No Not sure Yes No Not sure
11% 11%
18% 20%
71% 69%
Page | 47
REMARKS
→ The table and charts show that the relationship of gender with remembering the ad is not
significant.
→ The number of male and female in each alternative namely- Yes, No and Not sure are more or
less same
1.6 Influence of gender on the willingness to buy the product on the basis of the
advertisement
Table 1.6 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and willingness to buy product 1
Respondents willingness to buy product 1

Gender Yes No Not sure Total
Female 11 43 26 80
13.8% 53.8% 32.5% 100%
Male 26 41 13 80
32.5% 51.2% 16.2% 100%
Total 37 84 39 160
23.1% 52.5% 24.4% 100%
ANALYSIS
The above depicts the relationship between gender and responder’s willingness to buy product-1 on
the basis of seeing the advertisement. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders majority
(84) of them won’t buy the product on the basis of the advertisement shown i.e. 52.5% while 37 of
them (23%) said they would buy the product and another 39 were not sure ( 24.4%) about what they
would decide.
Among 80 women responders, 11 (13.8%) said they would buy the product 43(53.8%) said they will not
and 26(32.5%) were not sure. Among the 80 male respondents, 25(32.5%) were willing to buy the
product while 41(51.2%) said they will not buy the product and 13(16.2%) were not sure.
Page | 48
Chart 1.5: Willingness to buy product 1 and gender of responders
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
Axis Title
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
yes no not sure
Female 29.70% 51.20% 66.70%
male 70.30% 48.80% 33.30%
The chart above shows that among the 37 respondents who said they will buy the product, 11 (29.7%)
were women and 26 (70.3%) were male. The 84 people who said they won’t but it 43(51.2%) were
women and 41(48.8%) were male. Among the lot of 39 people who were unsure 26(66.7%) were
female and 13(33.3%) were male.
REMARKS
→ The probability of males buying the product-1 after seeing the ad is more than women.
→ More women are unsure about what they will decide, while most men know either to buy or
not.
1.7 Influence of gender on ability to find deception in the advertisement
Table 1.7 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and ability to find deception – product 1
Gender of respondents If respondents found the ad deceptive Total

product 1
Yes No Not sure
Female 12 43 25 80
Male 16 38 26 80
Total 28 81 51 160
Page | 49
ANALYSIS
In the above table, relationship between gender and responder’s capability to find the deception in the
advertisement of product-1 is shown. Overall 28(17.5%) of the total 160 responders were able to find
the ad deceptive while 81(50.6%) i.e. the maximum responders were not able to find the ad deceptive
and 51(31.9%) were not sure if ad was deceptive. In total 28 who found the ad deceptive, 12(42.8%)
were female while 16(57.2%) were male. Total 81 found the ad not deceptive, among them 43(53%)
female and 38(47%) were male. In all 51 responders were not sure where, 25(49%) are female and
26(51%) are males.
Chart 1.6: Ability to find deception in ad of product 1 and gender of responders
60.00%
53.80%
50.00% 47.50%
40.00%
32.50%
31.20%
30.00%
20.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Yes No Not sure
Female Male
Page | 50
1.8 Influence of gender on willingness of respondent to take action against a
deceptive ad
Table 1.8 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and willingness to take action against
deceptive ad (product-1)
Gender of respondents If respondents take action against Total

deceptive ad product 1
Yes No Not sure
Count 14 40 26 80
% within gender of respondents 17.5% 50.0% 32.5% 100.0%
Female
% within If respondents take action

41.2% 48.2% 60.5%
against deceptive ad product 1
Count 20 43 17 80

Male
% within If respondents take action
58.8% 51.8% 39.5%
Count 34 83 43 160
Total % within If respondents take action
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
The table above shows the relationship between the gender of the responder and his/her willingness
to take action if they find the ad deceptive. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders
majority (83) of them won’t take any action i.e. 51.87% while 34 of them (21.25%) said they would
take some action and another 43 were not sure ( 26.87%) about what they would decide.
The table also indicate that within Females, 14(17.5%) out of 80 said they would take action against
the deceptive ad, 50% said they will not while 26(32.5%) were not sure. Among Males, 20(25%) out of
Page | 51
80 male responders were willing to take action and 53.8% (43) were not willing while (17)21.2% said
were not sure.
REMARKS
→ There are more men (20) who said they will report the ad than females (14), though the
difference is not significant.
→ More females (26) are not sure if they will take any action than males (17).
1.9 Influence of occupation on ability to find deception in the advertisement
Table 1.9 Cross- tabulation relationships between occupation and ability to find deception – product 1
occupation of the respondents If respondents found the ad deceptive product Total

1
yes no not sure
Self employed 3 8 3 14
Student 3 25 10 38
Corporate/Government employee 19 42 32 93
Homemaker 0 2 2 4
Other 3 4 4 11
Total 28 81 51 160
ANALYSIS
The relationship between occupation of the responder and the ability to find deception in the ad is
shown in the above table. The number of people working in corporate and having government jobs is
highest at 93 out of 160 respondents; least number of responders is in the homemaker category.
Page | 52
Chart 1.7: Percentage within occupation and ability to find deception
65.80%
0.7
57.10%
0.6 50.00%
45.20%
0.5 50.00%
34.40% 36.40%
0.4
26.30% 27.30%
0.3 21.40% 21.40% 36.40%
20.40%
0.2 7.90%
0.1 0.00%
0
Yes No Not sure
In self employed group, 3(21.4%) found the ad deceptive while 8(57.1%) did not and 3(21.4%) were not
sure out of total 14 in this occupation. In student category 3(7.9%) found the ad deceptive while
25(65.8%) did not and 10(26.3%) were not sure from total 38 respondents. In corporate and govt.
category, 19(20.4%) found ad deceptive 42(45.2%) did not and 32(34.4%) were not sure. The
homemaker among 4 responders, 2(50%) did not find the ad deceptive while 2(50%) were not sure. 11
respondents chose other occupation, 3(27.3%) found the ad deceptive while 4(36.45%) did not and
another 4(36.45%) were not sure.
REMARKS
→ In homemaker category none of the respondent found the ad deceptive.

→ The highest number of respondents who found the ad deceptive was in the category of
corporate /government employee.
Page | 53
1.10 Influence of occupation on willingness of respondent to take action against a
deceptive ad
Table 1.10 Cross- tabulation relationships between occupation and willingness to take action
occupation of the respondents If respondents take action against deceptive ad product 1 Total
Yes No Not sure
3 10 1 14
Self employed
21.4% 71.4% 7.1% 100.0%
5 24 9 38
Student
13.2% 63.2% 23.7% 100.0%
Corporate/Government 24 42 27 93
employee 25.8% 45.2% 29.0% 100.0%
0 4 0 4
Homemaker
0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 100.0%
2 3 6 11
Other
18.2% 27.3% 54.5% 100.0%
Total 34 83 43 160
21.2% 51.9% 26.9% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
The above table shows that overall 21.2% responders said they would take action while 51.9% said
they would not and 26.9% were not sure. Among self employed group, 3(21.4%) said they will take
some action while 10(71.4%) did not and 1(7.1%) were not sure out of total 14 in this occupation. In
student category 5(13.2%) said they will take action against the deceptive ad while 24(63.2%) would
not and 9(23.7%) were not sure from total 38 respondents. In corporate and govt. category, 24(25.8%)
were willing to take action 42(45.2%) were not and 27(29%) were not sure. The homemaker among 4
responders, all 4(100%) said they won’t take any action. 11 respondents chose other occupation,
2(18.2%) were willing to take action while 3(27.3%) were not and another 6(54.5%) were not sure.
Page | 54
Chart 1.8: Occupation and will to take action against deceptive ad
% within alternative actions

80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Self Student Corporate/ Homemak Other
employed Governme er
nt
employee
Yes 8.8% 14.7% 70.6% 0.0% 5.9%
No 12.0% 28.9% 50.6% 4.8% 3.6%
Not sure 2.3% 20.9% 62.8% 0.0% 14.0%
REMARKS
→ Maximum number of respondents willing to take action against deceptive or unethical

advertisement is in corporate/government employee-70.6%
→ None of the homemaker said that they will take any action against the deceptive ad.
1.11 Influence of education on the willingness to buy the product on the basis of the
advertisement
Table 1.11 Cross- tabulation relationships between education and willingness to buy product-1
Education qualification Respondents willingness to buy Total

product 1
Yes No Not sure
Secondary and Higher

5 4 2 11
Secondary Education
Graduate 18 48 26 92
Post Graduate 14 29 10 53
Doctoral Degree 0 3 1 4
Total 37 84 39 160
Page | 55
ANALYSIS
The table shows that from the 160 responders 11(6.9%) had secondary and higher secondary
education, 92(57.5%) were graduates while 53(33.1%) were post graduates and 4(2.5%) had doctoral
degree. Within the secondary and higher secondary category, maximum 5(45.5%) said they would buy
the product-1 on the basis of seeing the advertisement while in the graduate category maximum
people 48(52.2%) said they would not buy the product. Similarly in post graduate and doctoral
category maximum responder chose not to buy the product, 29(54.7%) and 3(75%) respectively.
REMARKS
→ It seems that level of education affects the ability of a person to analyze ad properly as only in
secondary and higher secondary level education category people willing to buy even after
seeing the deceptive ad were more than those not willing to buy.
→ Similarly the highest level of education i.e. doctoral degree has highest no. of people who won’t
buy product-1 after seeing the deceptive advertisement.
1.12 Influence of education on ability to find deception in the advertisement
Table 1.12 Cross- tabulation relationships between occupation and ability to find deception – product
1
Education qualification If respondents found the ad Total

deceptive product 1
Yes No Not sure
Secondary and 0 4 7 11
Higher Secondary 0.0% 36.4% 63.6% 100.0%
18 47 27 92
Graduate
19.6% 51.1% 29.3% 100.0%
10 27 16 53
Post Graduate
18.9% 50.9% 30.2% 100.0%
0 3 1 4
Doctoral Degree
0.0% 75.0% 25.0% 100.0%
28 81 51 160
Total
17.5% 50.6% 31.9% 100.0%
Page | 56
ANALYSIS
The relationship between the education of the respondent and his/her ability to find deception in the
advertisement is shown in the above table. It shows that overall 17.5% people thought that the ad was
deceptive while 50.6% thought it was not and 31.9% people were not sure.
Chart 1.9: Proportion of people of each education category and ability to find deception
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Secondary and
Higher Graduate Post Graduate Doctoral Degree
Secondary
Yes 0% 64.30% 35.70% 0%
No 4.90% 58% 33.30% 3.70%
Not sure 13.70% 52.90% 31.40% 2%
Among the 160 responders, 28 found the advertisement deceptive where 64.3% were graduate level
respondents and 35.7% were post graduates. The 81 respondents who did not find the ad deceptive
where, 4.9% secondary and higher secondary level people 58% graduate level while post graduates
were 33.3% and 3.7% were of doctoral level.
51 respondents were not sure about what they feel, where 13.7% were secondary and higher
secondary level people 52.9% were graduates while the postgraduates comprised of 31.4% and 2%
doctoral degree level respondents.
Page | 57
1.13 Influence of education on willingness of respondent to take action against a
deceptive ad
Table 1.13 Cross- tabulation relationships between education and willingness to take action
Education qualification If respondents take action against deceptive ad Total

product 1
Yes No Not sure

Secondary and Higher Secondary
4 4 3 11
Education
Graduate 16 50 26 92
Post Graduate 13 28 12 53
Doctoral Degree 1 1 2 4
Total 34 83 43 160
ANALYSIS
The above table shows that overall 21.2% responders said they would take action while 51.9% said
they would not and 26.9% were not sure. Among secondary and higher secondary, 4(36.4%) said they
will take some action while 4(36.4%) did not and 3(27.3%) were not sure out of total 11 in this
category. In graduate category 16(17.4%) said they will take action against the deceptive ad while
50(54.3%) would not and 26(28.3%) were not sure from total 92 respondents. In post graduate
category from 53, 13(24.5%) were willing to take action 28(52.8%) were not and 12(22.6%) were not
sure. The doctoral degree level among 4 responders, 1(25%) said they will take action 1(25%) said he
won’t while 2(50%) said they were not sure of any action.
Page | 58
4.2 PRODUCT 2: AMUL MACHO GARMENTS
Amul Macho is an underwear brand in India. Over the years, the brand has always been a
contemporary definition of machismo for Indian men. From being ‘irresistible’ to being ‘cool and
smooth,’ Amul Macho has fed into the narcissism of Indian men since its starting days
The 'Toing' girl Sana Khan was immediately famous for her act as Amul Macho's 'toing' girl. The ad
featured Sana as a wife who fantasises about her husband while washing his Amul Macho
undergarment. The advertisement aired on national television, during regular shows. However, it was
reportedly considered so offensive that it had to be banned.
The brand started another campaign and changed its tagline to improve its image. The communication
also showcases the shift in the positioning from the brand's old line "Yeh tho bada toing hai" to "Bade
aaram se". A response from Sandeep Sakseria, executive director at Amul Macho, said, "The objective
of the new campaign for Amul Macho is to take the brand to the next level in terms of imagery and
perception and establish its postion as the leader in the category. He also went on to say that changing
the caption and idea from 'Yeh toh bada toing hai' to 'Bade aaram se' was a tough call but was needed.
❖ In the following study respondents are asked to watch two ads from the same brand of the
same product, where one of them is banned by the ASCI and anther is still broadcasted.
❖ An attempt is made to determine which ad made more impact on the viewers and which one
did most of them remembered.
❖ We also tried to determine whether people found the banned ad deceptive or not to get a clear
idea on how cleverly marketers succeed in creating impact on consumers mind using wrong
tactics and that too even without consumers noticing them sometimes.
Page | 59
2.1 Ability of responder to guess what product is being advertised by seeing the
advertisement
Chart 2.1: Raw responses for product-2
If respondends were able to tell what is being

advertised
80
70
60
50
Axis Title
40
30
20
10
0
YES NO MAYBE
AD1 52 74 34
AD2 62 65 33
AD1- The new advertisement that the company is using
AD2- The banned advertisement
ANALYSIS
The above chart shows what the responders thought after watch both the ad clips and if they were
able to guess what product was being advertised. Total number of responders was 160.
AD1- 52 (32.5%) responders were able to guess the product being advertised, 74(46.25%) were
definitely not able to guess the product while 34(21.25%) were not sure.
AD2- 62(38.75%) people were able to guess the product being advertised, 65(40.63%) were definitely
not able to guess the product while 33(20.62%) were not sure.
Page | 60
REMARKS
→ Its interesting to note that though AD2 was banned, more people were able to guess the
product being advertised compared to AD1.
→ This suggests the advertisers might consider making some changes to the advertisement.
2.2 Response of people to various questions in questionnaire

Chart 2.2: Relationships between questions about product-2 and responses
100
97
100
90 79
80 69
70 62
60 49 50
48 48
50 40 38
40
30
17
20
10
0
Which ad would Which ad captured Which ad would Which ad is
you discusswith yourattention make youbuy the deceptive or
your friends? more? product? misleading ?
AD1 AD2 NEITHER
ANALYSIS
The above table shows the data of responder about four questions asked in the questionnaire. (a)
Which ad would you discuss with your friends? It shows that maximum number of people (69) would
not discuss any of the advertisement with their friends. Though when a comparison is done between
AD1 and AD2 more people said they would discuss AD2 (62) than AD1 (40). (b) Which ad captured your
attention more? The responses to this question were highest in AD2 (79) while 38 said neither and 48
said AD1. (c) Which ad would make you buy the product? In response to this question, maximum
people (100) said neither of the two ads. Though comparing AD1 and AD2 it is found that more people
(48) said AD1 would make them buy the product than AD2 (17). (d) Which ad is deceptive or
misleading? The table shows that though AD2 captured more attention, it was also AD2 which most
Page | 61
people found deceptive (97) while 49 said AD1 was deceptive and 50 said they found neither of them
deceptive or unethical.
REMARKS
→ AD2, which maximum of the people find deceptive is also the ad that captures maximum
people’s attention.
→ Also it is AD2 that people are more likely to discuss than AD1.
→ It shows the advertisers have tactfully put such elements in AD2 which even though made it
misleading, made an impact on viewers mind.
2.3 Analysis of guesses made by respondents after seeing both the advertisements
Chart 2.3: Guesses of responder after watching both ad clips
160
137
140
120
100
80
60
40
23
20
0
What product according to you
are they advertising?
Amul macho men's garments Other
ANALYSIS
The chart clearly shows that maximum people 137(85.6%) were able to guess that the ad was related
to men’s undergarments.
While there were 23(14.4%) respondents who thought that the ad was related to something else. The
data was collected as short answer therefore various responses were received in other category. Some
of the striking responses to the questions were as under:
Page | 62
a. Elasticity of Men's inner wear
b. Mostly man oriented and doesn't give any information about the product at first
c. Nothing more that objectifying women
d. They give us wrong direction.
e. Health product in first add and beauty product in second one.
f. Something related to energy and cosmetic
g. Washing powder
h. Homosexuality
i. 2 people thought that AD1 was for shoes
j. 3 people thought AD2 was for contraceptives
REMARKS
→ The response by some of the people depicts how different the depiction in ad could be from
the product actually advertised.
→ Though maximum people guessed the product being advertised, the responses of the minority
are very striking and a little disturbing.
2.4 Probability of responders discussing ad with friends
Chart 2.4: Probability of ad being discussed with friends
70 66
62
60
50
40
40
30
20
10
0
AD1 AD2 NEITHER
No. of responders
Page | 63
ANALYSIS
The above table shows the probability of AD1 and AD2 being discussed with friends. Responders were
asked which ad would they discuss with their friends, the question being a multiple choice question
responses received were 168. Out of 168, 40(23.8%) said that they would discuss AD1 62(37%) said
they will discuss AD2 and 66 (39.2%) were not interested in discussing any of them.
REMARKS
→ It’s pretty clear that viewers find the banned ad i.e. AD2 more interesting and hence are more
interested in discussing ad2 than ad1.
→ The advertiser though showing misleading ad, was able to capture more people’s attention
through AD2.
2.5 Relationship between willingness to buy product and finding the advertisement
deceptive
Table 2.1 Cross- tabulation relationships between find ad deceptive and ability of ad to induce
purchase
Which ad would make you buy the product? Which ad did you find deceptive?
AD1 48 49
AD2 17 97
Neither 100 50
TOTAL 165 196
Page | 64
ANALYSIS
The question in product 2 category were multiple choice questions, hence the total is different for
these two questions. The above table tries to establish a relationship between the advertisement that
induce more people to buy the product and the advertisement that responder found unethical or
deceptive. Here out of total 165 people 48(29%) said AD1 will make them buy the product i.e. the ad
that is not banned and still in circulation. 17(10.3%) said AD2 was more successful in inducing them to
buy the product, while 100(60.7% ) said neither on the ads induced them.
When asked about which advertisement did they find deceptive 196 responses were received, 49(25%)
found AD1 deceptive while 97(49.5%) found AD2 deceptive while there were also 50(25.5%) people
who did not find any of the ads deceptive.
REMARKS
→ Even though 25% of people found AD1 deceptive there were 29% who said they were willing to
buy the product on the basis of the advertisement shown.
→ AD2 was found deceptive by more people than AD1
→ Also lesser people said they would buy the product after watching AD2 i.e.10.3%
→ Majority of people (60.7%) were not induced to buy the product by any of the advertisements.
Page | 65
4.3 PRODUCT 3: GARNIER MICELLAR WATER
Micellar water is made up of micelles (tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules) suspended in soft water.
The idea is that micelles are attracted to dirt and oil, so they are able to draw out impurities without
drying out the skin. Therefore, micellar water can be used as a facial wash, makeup remover and
moisturizer all in one.
Garnier micellar water is the product of L'Oreal India P. Ltd. The claims made by the brand in one of its ad
were found misleading and complaint was filed with ASCI, below is the excerpt from the report of ASCI.
SOURCE: ASCI- Consumer Complaints Council Recommendations of 2018-19
$, GAMA (8201818819) 1809-C.1559 L'Oreal India P. Ltd. (*)(Garnier Micellar CleansingWater)
MEDIUM: Zoom (*) (23.06.2018)
ADVERTISING AGENCY: Indigo Consulting
NATURE OF COMPLAINT
Claims Objected To:
1. Makeup off in just one swipe
2. Micellar Cleansing Water No.1 Worldwide
Complaint:
Description: The ad shows clips of Alia Bhatt and two other girls applying lipstick, eye and face makeup
and saying that they love it. But cleanup is so tough. Alia then tells her secret of cleaning up makeup-
Use Garnier Micellar- pour, press, swipe; Makeup off in just one swipe. The ad ends with the product
displayed and the tagline- Micellar Cleansing Water No. 1 worldwide.
Objections:
1. Please substantiate claims 1-2 with claim support data. The claim support data should not be
internal or based on studies commissioned by Garnier.
2. The “No.1 Worldwide” claim has to be substantiated by the advertiser with verifiable comparative
data of the advertiser’s product and other world-wide competitive products in the same category, or
through third party validation.
Page | 66
3. Are the effects shown on the skin of the actress the actual results of using the product or is it photo
shopped and edited? Please substantiate with a report from financially independent agency.
4. Reference to claim 2; according to ASCI, claims should be based on reports not more than 1 year old.
The advertisement cites a March 2016 to February 2017 year study which is more than a year old.
5. Actress Alia Bhatt features in the advertisement. As per the ASCI Guidelines for Celebrities in
Advertising, a Celebrity should do due diligence to ensure that all description, claims and comparisons
made in the advertisements they appear in or endorse are capable of being objectively ascertained
and capable of substantiation and should not mislead or appear deceptive. The claims made by the
celebrity (Actress Alia Bhatt) in this ad violate this clause of the ASCI guidelines. Can the advertiser
show evidence that the actress Alia Bhatt as done due diligence and that she confirms with all the
claims made in the advertisement?
CCC RECOMMENDATION
❖ The CCC concluded that the claim, “Makeup off in just one swipe.” accompanied by the visual
implying complete removal of Kajal and Lipstick was not substantiated. The claim is misleading
by exaggeration, and is likely to lead to grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of
consumers. The TVC contravened Chapters I.1, I.4 and I.5 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was
UPHELD.
❖ Cleansing Water No. I Worldwide”, was not objectionable. This complaint was NOT UPHELD.
❖ The CCC observed that the advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrity
had done due diligence prior to endorsement, to ensure that all description, claims and
comparisons made in the TVC are capable of substantiation, nor any Testimonials, or any
evidence of the consent of the celebrity for the product efficacy claims. This contravenes
Clauses (c), (d) of the Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising. This complaint was UPHELD.
Page | 67
Responses Received
Chart 3.1: Raw data of product 3
118
120 108
100 87
81
75
80
64
58
60 52
40
40 31
27
21
12 15
20 11
0
Do you Have you seen Would you buy Do you consider Would you take
remember this the ad recently? the product the ad deceptive any action
ad? based on seeing of unethical? against the
this ad? advertiser, if you
find this ad
deceptive ?
YES NO NOT SURE
KEY TAKEAWAYS
→ Even though this advertisement was banned recently, the number of people who remembered
the ad is lower than in case of product 1.
→ 108 out of 160 people remembered the ad i.e. 67.5%, 40(25%) did not while 12(7.5%) were not
sure.
→ 81(50.6%) people said that they have seen the advertisement recently while 64(40%) did not
and 15(9.6%) were not sure.
→ Majority (75) of people said that they would not buy the product based on watching the
advertisement shown.
→ Though maximum people denied buying the product after watching the advertisement, only a
small portion (11 responders) thought that the ad was deceptive.
Page | 68
Table 3.1 Percentage data of product 3
Have you
Do you seen the Would you buy the Do you consider Would you take any action
remembe ad product based on the ad deceptive against the advertiser, if you
r this ad? recently? seeing this ad? of unethical? find this ad deceptive?
YES 67.50% 50.60% 36.25% 6.80% 13.10%
NO 25% 40% 46.88% 73.70% 54.40%

NOT
SURE 7.50% 9.40% 16.87% 19.50% 32.50%
TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
→ Highest number of responders (118) said that they did not find the advertisement deceptive in
anyway.
→ Maximum responders i.e. 54.4% said they will not take any action even if they find the ad
deceptive. Lowest no. of respondents (21) said they will report such ad, while 52(32.5%) said
they were not sure.
3.1 Influence of age on ability to remember the advertisement
Table 3.2 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and remembrance of ad (product-3)
Age of the respondents Respondents ability to remember the ad product 3 Total
Yes No Not sure

18-25 95 33 10 138
26-35 9 6 1 16
36-45 3 0 0 3
46-55 1 1 1 3
Total 108 40 12 160
Page | 69
ANALYSIS
From the above table we can see that from the 160 responders 138(86.25%) are under the age group
of 18-25 years, 16(10%) are in the age group of 26-35 and 3(1.875%) each in categories 36-45 and 46-
55. Among the age group of 18-25, 95 out of 138 remembered the advertisement 33 said they do not
remember while 10 were not sure. In the category of 26-35, 9 respondents out of 16 said they
remembered the ad 6 did not while 1 was not sure. In 36-45 age group all 3 respondent remembered
the ad while in 46-55 age group respondents 1 remembered 1 did not and 1 was not sure.
Chart 3.2: Age-wise distribution of data relating to remembrance of ad (product3)
88%
90% 82.50% 83.30%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20% 15%
8.30%
2.80% 8.30% 8.30%
10% 0.90% 2.50%
0.00% 0.00%
0%
YES NO NOT SURE
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
REMARKS
→ Among the people who remembered the advertisement, maximum were from the age group
18-25
→ The percentage of respondents in each alternative is highest of age group 18-25 because
number of respondents in that category is the highest.
Page | 70
3.2 Influence of age on the willingness to buy the product on the basis of the
advertisement
Table 3.3 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and willingness to buy product -3
Age of the respondents Respondents willingness to buy the product 3 Total
Yes No Not sure

18-25 47 66 25 138
26-35 7 8 1 16
36-45 3 0 0 3
46-55 1 1 1 3
Total 58 75 27 160
buy the product on the basis of seeing the advertisement. The overall result shows that out of 160
responders majority (75) of them won’t buy the product on the basis of the advertisement shown i.e.
46.88% while 58 of them (36.25%) said they would buy the product and another 27 were not sure
(16.87%) about what they would decide.
Chart 3.3: Distribution within age group about willingness to buy product 3
120.00%
100.00%
80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%
0.00%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
YES 34.10% 43.80% 100% 33.30%
NO 47.80% 50% 0% 33.30%
NOT SURE 18.10% 6.80% 0.00% 33.30%
Page | 71
The table and the chart also indicate that within the age group of 18-25, 34.1% said they would buy
product-3, 47.8% said they will not while 18.1% were not sure. In 26-35 maximum (50%) said they will
not buy the product while 43.8% said they would and a marginal 6.8% said were not sure. In 36-45
category 100% said they would buy the product while in 46-55 category, 33.3% were willing to buy
33.3% were not 33.3% were not sure.
3.3 Influence of age on ability to find deception in the advertisement
Table 3.4 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and ability to find deception (product -3)
Age of the respondents Respondents opinion on deception in the ad product 3 Total
Yes No Not sure

9 100 29 138
18-25
6.5% 72.5% 21.0% 100.0%
1 14 1 16
26-35
6.2% 87.5% 6.2% 100.0%
0 3 0 3
36-45
0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 100.0%
1 1 1 3
46-55
33.3% 33.3% 33.3% 100.0%
11 118 31 160
Total
6.9% 73.8% 19.4% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
In the above table, relationship between age and responder’s capability to find the deception in the
advertisement of product-3 is shown. Overall 6.9% of the total responders were able to find the ad
deceptive while 73.8% i.e. the maximum responders were not able to find the ad deceptive and 19.4%
were not sure if ad was deceptive. In 18-25 age group, 9(6.5%) found the ad deceptive while
100(72.5%) did not and 29(21%) were not sure. In 26-35 category 1(6.2%) found the ad deceptive
while 14(87.5%) did not and 1(6.2%) were not sure. All (100%) responders in age group 36-45 did not
find anything unethical or deceptive. In group 46-55, 1(33.3%) respondent found the ad deceptive
1(33.3%) respondent did not and 1(33.3%) respondent was not sure if ad was deceptive or not.
Page | 72
REMARKS
→ Compared to product-1 lesser people found the ad for product -3 deceptive or misleading, it
could be because ad for product-1 was comparatively more boastful.
→ It is also possible that ad for product 3 being more enjoyable and peppy than ad of product-1
shifted viewers attention from facts.
3.4 Influence of age on willingness of respondent to take action against a

deceptive ad
Table 3.5 Cross- tabulation relationships between age and willingness to take action against deceptive
ad (product-3)
Age of the respondents If respondents take action when ad found Total

deceptive
Yes No Not sure
18-25 16 75 47 138
26-35 4 8 4 16
36-45 0 3 0 3
46-55 1 1 1 3
Total 21 87 52 160
ANALYSIS
take action if they find the ad deceptive. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders majority
(87) of them won’t take any action i.e. 54.37% while 21 of them (13.12%) said they would take some
action and another 52 were not sure ( 32.5%) about what they would decide.
The table and the chart also indicate that within the age group of 18-25, 19.60% said they would take
action against the deceptive ad, 53.6% said they will not while 26.8% were not sure. In 26-35 37.5%
were willing to take action and 37.5% were not willing while 6.2% said were not sure. In 36-45 category
66.7% said they would not take any action and 33.3% were not sure while in 46-55 category, 33.3%
respondents were in each alternative
Page | 73
Chart 3.4: Willingness to take action against deceptive advertisement and age of responders
(product3)
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
YES 11.60% 25% 0.00% 33.33%
NO 54.30% 50% 100% 33.33%
NOT SURE 34.10% 25% 0.00% 33.33%
3.5 Influence of gender on ability to remember the advertisement
Table 3.6 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and remembrance of ad (product-3)
Gender of respondents Respondents ability to remember the ad product 3 Total
Yes No Not sure
Female 72 4 4 80
Male 36 36 8 80
Total 108 40 12 160
Page | 74
ANALYSIS
The above table depicts the relationship between gender of the respondent and the ability to
remember the ad. 72 out of 1O8 respondents who remembered the ad were female (66.7%) and 36
male (33.3%). Among 40 respondents who did not remembered the ad 4 were female (10%) and 36
male (90%). There were 12 respondents who were not sure if they remember the ad where 4(33.3%)
were female and 8(66.7%) male.
Chart 3.5: Gender and ability to remember ad of product-3
Female Male
YES NO MAYBE
90%
10%
5% 5%
YES
NO 45% 45%
MAYBE
REMARKS
→ The advertisement was remembered by huge majority of females (90%), where not even half of
the males remembered the ad. This can be attributed to the product being a cosmetic product.
→ This also indicates that the advertiser was successful in capturing the attention of his target
customers i.e. females.
Page | 75
3.6 Influence of gender on the willingness to buy the product on the basis of
the advertisement
Table 3.7 Cross-Tabulation relationship of gender and willingness to product-3
Gender of respondents Respondents willingness to buy the product 3 Total
Yes No Not sure

42 26 12 80
Female
52.5% 32.5% 15.0% 100.0%
16 49 15 80
Male
20.0% 61.2% 18.8% 100.0%
58 75 27 160
Total
36.2% 46.9% 16.9% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
The above depicts the relationship between gender and responder’s willingness to buy product-3 on
the basis of seeing the advertisement. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders majority
(75) of them won’t buy the product on the basis of the advertisement shown i.e. 46.9% while
58(36.2%) of them said they would buy the product and another 27( 16.9%) were not sure about
what they would decide.
Chart 3.6: Willingness to buy product 1 and gender of responders (product-3)
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
YES NO MAYBE
FEMALE 72.40% 34.70% 44.40%
MALE 27.60% 65.30% 55.60%
Page | 76
Among 80 women responders, 42 (52.5%) said they would buy the product 26(32.5%) said they will not
and 12(15%) were not sure. Among the 80 male respondents, 16(20%) were willing to buy the product
while 49(61.2%) said they will not buy the product and 15(18.8%) were not sure.
The chart above shows that among the 58 respondents who said they will buy the product, 42 (72.4%)
were women and 16 (27.6%) were male. The 75 people who said they won’t but it 26(34.7%) were
women and 49(65.3%) were male. Among the lot of 27 people who were unsure 12(44.4%) were
female and 15(55.6%) were male.
3.7 Influence of gender on ability to find deception in the advertisement

Table 3.8 Cross-tabulation relationship between gender and ability to find deception (product-3)
Gender of respondents Respondents opinion on deception in the ad product 3 Total

Yes No Not sure
5 61 14 80
Female
45.5% 51.7% 45.2% 50.0%
6 57 17 80
Male
54.5% 48.3% 54.8% 50.0%
11 118 31 160
Total
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
ANALYSIS
In the above table, relationship between gender and responder’s capability to find the deception in the
advertisement of product-3 is shown. Overall 11(6.88%) of the total 160 responders were able to find
the ad deceptive while 118(73.75%) i.e. the maximum responders were not able to find the ad
deceptive and 31(19.37%) were not sure if ad was deceptive. In total 11 who found the ad deceptive,
5(45.5%) were female while 6(54.5%) were male. Total 118 found the ad not deceptive, among them
61(51.7%) female and 57(48.3%) were male. In all 31 responders were not sure where, 14(45.2%) are
female and 17(54.8%) are males.
Page | 77
3.8 Influence of gender on willingness of respondent to take action against a
deceptive ad
Table 3.9 Cross- tabulation relationships between gender and willingness to take action against
deceptive ad (product-1)
Gender of respondents If respondents take action when ad Total

found deceptive
Yes No Not sure
Count 9 45 26 80
Female
% within If respondents take action when
42.9% 51.7% 50.0% 50.0%
ad found deceptive
Count 12 42 26 80
Male
57.1% 48.3% 50.0% 50.0%
ad found deceptive
Count 21 87 52 160
Total
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
ad found deceptive
ANALYSIS
The table above shows the relationship between the gender of the responder and his/her willingness
to take action if they find the ad deceptive. The overall result shows that out of 160 responders
majority (87) of them won’t take any action i.e. 54.4% while 21 of them (13.1%) said they would take
some action and another 52 were not sure ( 32.5%) about what they would decide.
The table also indicate that within Females, 9(11.2%) out of 80 said they would take action against the
deceptive ad, 56.2% said they will not while 26(32.5%) were not sure. Among Males, 12(15%) out of 80
male responders were willing to take action and 52.5% (42) were not willing while 26(32.5%) said were
not sure.
Page | 78
CHAPTER 5:
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSION
Page | 79
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION
The previous chapter presented the tables, charts, and absolute analysis of data on the basis of
collected data. The present chapter deals with the findings of the study based on the results given in
previous chapter. This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section presents the findings of
the study. The second section deals with the suggestions for further research and the third section
gives the conclusion of the study.
5.1. FINDINGS
In this section the findings of the study based upon methodology, statistical tools, tables and charts used to
gather information from the collected data (raw data) will be noted. The findings of the study should be link
with the objectives of the study and arranged in logical sequence without any bias.
A) PRODUCT-1
➢ The data analysis of product -1 revealed that 70% of the respondents remembered the
advertisement. This suggests that the advertiser made an impact on viewers mind.
➢ Though 112(70%) of 160 respondents remembered the advertisement, only 37(23%). It
suggests that advertiser was not able to induce purchase behavior in customers through
his advertising.
➢ The data analysis clearly indicates that most of the people were not able to identify a
misleading ad, because though an advertisement banned by the ASCI was shown majority of
the viewers (50%) did not find the advertisement deceptive and (32%) were not sure.
➢ The data clearly shows that consumers are not aware of their rights, and among those who are
most do not want to take the pain of reporting unethical advertising. As 21.2% said they
would report it, 51.9%said they will not and 26.9% were not sure.
➢ No major influence of age was found in remembrance of the ad.
➢ The data analysis indicates that willingness to buy the product on the basis of watching the ad
shown was similar in all age groups.
➢ The data analysis reveals that people below the age of 35 were more able to find deception in
ad than people above 35 years. As 26(18.8%) in age group 18-25 and 2(12.5%) in 26-35 found
ad deceptive while nobody above 35 years found the ad deceptive.
➢ Data analysis revealed no significant relationship between gender and ability to remember the
ad.
Page | 80
➢ Data analysis shows that among the 37 respondents who said they will buy the product, 11
(29.7%) were women and 26 (70.3%) were male. It suggests that there is more probability of a
male to buy the product than a female.
➢ Data analysis shows that there are more men (20) who said they will report the ad than females
(14), though the difference is not significant.
B) PRODUCT-2
➢ Data analysis showed that 52 (32.5%) responders were able to guess the product being
advertised in AD1, while 62(38.75%) people in AD2. It suggests that if it is not specifically told in
the advertisement in the end, most of the people are not able to guess the product being
advertised.
➢ It suggests that the advertiser used much irrelevant information for the purpose of catching
attention.
➢ Data analysis revealed that people were more interested in discussing AD2 with friends than
AD2; this may be attributed to the sex appeal used in AD2 which is unethical.
➢ Data analysis clearly showed that AD2, which is banned by ASCI for being unethical, captured
more people’s attention. Highest in AD2 (79) while 38 said neither and 48 said AD1
➢ Analysis shows that AD2, which maximum of the people find deceptive is also the ad that
captures maximum people’s attention.
➢ The analysis of data showed that when compared to product -1, more people in product -2
were able to identify the deception in advertising; 97 people were able to identify AD2 as
unethical.
➢ Data analysis shows that 29% said AD1 will make them buy the product i.e. the ad that is not
banned and still in circulation, 10.3% said AD2 was more successful in inducing them to buy the
product, while 60.7% said neither on the ads induced them.
Page | 81
C) PRODUCT-3
➢ Data analysis shows that even though this advertisement was banned recently, the number of
people who remembered the ad (108) is lower than in case of product- 1(112).
➢ Analysis of data shows that 108 out of 160 people remembered the ad i.e. 67.5%, 40(25%) did
not while 12(7.5%) were not sure.
➢ Data analysis clearly indicates that huge number of respondents (118) does not find the ad
deceptive, even though it was banned by ASCI which mean that the ad was in fact misleading in
some elements.
➢ The data analysis gives clear indication that people don’t bother to report a deceptive ad, as
maximum responders i.e. 54.4% said they will not take any action even if they find the ad
deceptive. Lowest no. of respondents (21) said they will report such ad, while 52(32.5%) said
they were not sure.
➢ Data analysis did not show any direct relation of age to either remembering of ad or
responder’s willingness to buy the product. Though in 36-45 category 100% said they would
buy the product.
➢ The analysis of data gives a weak indication that people below age 35 are more able to find
deception; none of the responder in age group 36-45 was able to identify the deceptive
advertisement.
➢ Similarly younger people are more willing to take action against the deceptive ad.
➢ Data analysis shows that the advertisers were successful in targeting the potential customers as
72 out of 1O8 respondents who remembered the ad were female (66.7%) and 36 were male
(33.3%); i.e. The advertisement was remembered by huge majority of females (90%).
➢ Analysis of data shows more females are willing to buy the product-3 than males. This can be
attributed to the nature of product being cosmetic.
➢ Data analysis shows that more females think that the ad was not deceptive than males. This
may be because of the bias for cosmetic product.
➢ Analysis of data reveals that within Females, 9(11.2%) out of 80 said they would take action
against the deceptive ad and among Males, 12(15%) out of 80 male responders were willing to
take action. Similar results were obtained in product-1.
➢ Also more females (56.2%) said they will not take action than males (52.5%).
Page | 82
5.2 SUGGESTIONS
The concept of marketing, advertising, product promotion etc is everlasting. No brand can survive in
the market without marketing and each and every company is involved in marketing their products
and brands. The growing cut throat competition and a consumer demand based market makes it very
difficult for the brands to survive in the market. In order to lure more customers and increase sales
advertisers use unethical means or make boastful statements which are misleading.
There is a need for stricter rules and regulations to control such malpractices. ASCI is setup to look into
such matters but more independent institutions are needed to implement rules strictly. Moreover
there should be heftier fines for violation of rules and regulations.
The data analysis found that the numbers of people who willingly are ready to take action against
deceptive advertisements are very less. It should be understood that though it is consumer right to get
fair information about all the products, it’s also our duty to report any malpractices that we notice.
The study identified that younger and educated people were less prone to deceptive or unethical
advertising. Such people should try to help others and to spread awareness.
In India there is confusion regarding the legality of keyword advertising. There are no clear cases either
allowing or prohibiting keyword advertising. Keyword specific advertisement regulations have to be
formulated to stop the consumer from being deceived. Looking at the gravity of the advertising
technique it is imminent that India needs to create clear keyword advertising regulations because
consumers can be deceived through this nascent technique.
Compensation and injunctions are the only tangible remedies available under the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986 to deter the unscrupulous advertiser. With no criminal prosecution envisaged in the statute,
the compensatory and injunctive relief is insufficient to stop the advertiser from using deception in
advertisement in the future. Criminal liability should be envisaged in the Indian statute too for
punishing deceptive advertisements.
Page | 83
5.3 FUTURE SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The core objectives of this study were to understand the concept of deceptive advertising, to find
out the ability of respondents to tell the deception in the advertisements showed, to analyze the
relation between the respondents ability to find deception and demographic profiles, to analyze if
the respondents take action against the deceptive advertisements, to find out the level of influence
deceptive ads have on the respondents and to analyze the frequency and the probability of
respondents to buy the product based on the deceptive advertisement.
A number of areas of future research have arisen while conducting the study and those are listed as
➢ Further studies can be undertaken to find out if there is any relationship between narrow or
open mindset of people and deceptive advertising, how they perceive them and what actions
they take against any advertisement that they find misleading.
➢ The study can be extended considering the lengths of advertisement and their ability to retain
the attention of the viewers.
➢ Further studies can also be undertaken in the field of issues such as deceptive advertising,
subliminal advertising, sex, age and gender manipulation, celebrity endorsement, industry
regulation and self regulation, advertising to children and a few studies on practitioners and
advertising stakeholders.
➢ There are relatively few studies focusing on the theological aspect of advertising ethics, further
studies can be conducted in that area.
➢ Further studies can be undertaken to study the relationship between marketing in various
social communication sites and increase the market share of companies.
Page | 84
5.4 CONCLUSION
The current study on deceptive marketing and people’s perception about it had 4 main objectives:
1.To find out the ability of respondents to tell the deception in the advertisements showed. 2. To
analyze the relation between the respondents ability to find deception and demographic profiles.
3. To analyze if the respondents take action against the deceptive advertisements. 4. To find out
the level of influence deceptive ads have on the respondents.
The data of 160 respondents was collected and it was found that consumers are able to know a
deceptive ad in some cases (like product-2) and is not able to identify misleading information in
others ads (product-3). This makes them vulnerable to fall prey to evil practices of advertisers.
One of the interesting facts noted in the study is that women were unsure of the answers more
than man, because more females selected the option “not sure” than males. Also it was noted that
males are more willing to take action against misleading advertisements than females.
Analysis of product-2 data concludes that the advertisements having sex appeal and other
unethical elements were remembered more and had higher probability of being discussed with
friends. The study concludes that there is no significant relationship between age or gender and
ability to remember advertisements.
Page | 85
WEBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing.asp
https://marketinginsidergroup.com/strategy/what-is-marketing/
https://www.yodiz.com/blog/8-types-of-marketing-strategies-and-definition/
http://cultbranding.com/ceo/52-types-of-marketing-strategies/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
https://www.masmp.org/deceptive-
marketing/#:~:text=Deceptive%20marketing%20is%20the%20use,one%20doing%20the%20deceptive%20advert
ising.
https://ascionline.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_Standards_Council_of_India
https://www.google.com/search?q=gender+stereotypical+ad+indian&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi6hNKTn5XoAhU
22HMBHR4uDyAQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=gender+stereotypical+ad+indian&gs_l=img.3...6648.8933..9384...0.0..0.513.2837.2-
1j2j3j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.YTj9n9xmfSI&ei=JVRqXvrdC7awz7sPnty8gAI#imgrc=SOzmC-HPA2BNSM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
https://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/raw-data
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_data
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_analysis
Page | 86
Page | 87
ANNEXURES
QUESTIONNAIRE
A Study on Deceptive Advertising
This questionnaire is intended for academic purposes

only. Your participation is valuable and would be highly
appreciated.
The responses will be kept confidential. Thank you for your time and efforts.
* Required
1. Age(in years) *
2. Gender *
Mark only one oval.
Female
Male
Other
3. Education Qualification *
Mark only one oval.
Secondary and Higher Secondary Education
Graduate
Post Graduate
Doctoral Degree
4. Location *
Mark only one oval.
Gujarat
Delhi/NCR
Maharashtra
Other:
Based on the video below, answer the following questions.

Product 1
Kesh King Hair Oil
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CauBAhJawAc
6. *
Mark onlyone oval per row.
Yes No Not sure
Do you remember this ad?
Would you buy the product based on seeing

this ad?
Do you consider the ad deceptive or unethical?
Would you take any action against the advertiser, if

you find this ad deceptive?
7. Explanation for your responses to the previous question (optional).
After watching both the clips answer the following questions.

Product 2
AD1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Z949rOsUVo
AD 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lCVodxIGDFg
8. What product according to you are they advertising? *

7. Would you have guessed the product if it was not specifically told in the ad? *
Yes No Maybe
AD1
AD2
10. *
Check all that apply.
AD1 AD2 Neither
Which ad would you discuss with your friends?
Which ad captured your attention more?
Which ad would make you buy the product?
Which ad is deceptive or misleading?
11. Explanation for the responses of the previous question (optional).

Based on the clip below answer the following questions.
Product 3
Garnier Micellar water
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t9U6NjNTZz8
12. *
Yes No Not sure
Do you remember this ad?
Have you seen this ad anywhere recently?
Would you buy the product based on seeing

this ad??
Do you consider the ad deceptive or unethical?
Would you take any action against the advertiser, if

you find this ad deceptive?
13. Explanation for your responses to the previous question (optional).

14. Does this ad make an impact on you? What point captured your attention instantly, if any? *

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A STUDY ON DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING

AND HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE IT

A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

(WITH SPECIALIZATION IN ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING SERVICES)

SHETH DAMODARDAS SCHOOL OF COMMERCE

Sr. NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

1.2 Types of marketing strategies 13

1.3 Examples of deceptive practices in marketing 15

1.5 Deceptive Advertising and Marketing 18

2.1 Research Gap 30

3.1 Problem statement 32

3.2 Objectives of the study 33

3.3 Scope of the study 33

3.4 Research Design 33

3.5 Sampling Design 34

3.6 Research Tools 34

3.7 Limitations of the study 35

• 1.1 Influence of age on ability to remember the 41

4.2 Product 2: Amul Macho Garments

• 2.3 Analysis of guesses made by respondents after seeing 62

• 2.5 Relationship between willingness to buy product and 65

5 FINDING, S UGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

Sr.No. Particulars Page no.

1.1 What is marketing?

Cause Close Range Relationship Transactional

Undercover Word of Mouth Call to Action

1.) Relationship marketing

2.) Word of Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth Marketing is the passing of information from person to person by oral

3.) Undercover Marketing

4.) Cause marketing

5.) Transactional marketing

6.) Diversity marketing

7.) Scarcity Marketing

1.3 Examples of deceptive practices in marketing

Marketing Field Deceptive Practices

1.4 What is advertising?

In order to understand the meaning on deceptive advertisement, we should first define

Advertising is a multidimensional activity. It is paid form of communication by a company or

Many consumers view deception as an inherent element of contemporary marketing activities.

→ if an advertisement (or advertising campaign) leaves the consumer with an impression or

2. Use of sex appeal

4. Using inappropriate stereotypes

(vi) Partial disclosures

vii) Fine print qualifications

Important conditions to a certain claim in an advertisement is given in small print. This

Chairman Rohit Gupta

▪ Anusorn Singhapakdi 1999: “Perceived importance of Ethics and Ethical Decisions in

1. To understand the concept of deceptive advertising.

4. To analyze if the respondents take action against the deceptive advertisements.

3.3 Scope of the study

3.4 Research Design

3.5 Sampling Design

3.6 RESEARCH TOOLS

Percentages explain information as a proportion of the whole. Percentages are calculated by

4. As the sources of data collection is primary (questionnaire) researchers bias consciously or

GENDER FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

EDUCATION QUALIFICATION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Secondary and Higher Secondary Education 11 6.9%

OCCUPATION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Self Employed 14 8.8%

Total 160 100%