IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISING

1. Advertising is a huge industry. It has created opportunities for various domains. The
benefits of advertising include:
2. Launch of a new product: - Advertising plays very significant role in the introduction
of a new product in the market. It stimulates the people to buy or know about a
product.
3. Increases markets: - It helps the manufacturers to expand their markets. It opens
the horizons for new markets for the product or service.
4. Mass sales: - Advertising facilitates mass production to goods that ultimately results
in a raised volume of sales.
5. Keeps the competitive spirit alive: - Advertising helps in keeping the competition
and the competitors at bay. It keeps a regular check on the performance of your
brand or product.
6. Creates goodwill: - Advertising builds goodwill of a brand. Advertising is a crucial
source through which the audience gets to know about a brand or product. If a
company is spending on advertisement, it means they care to make their consumers
aware. This increases the goodwill of a brand.
7. Creative minds: - Every place has a rich pool of strategic and creative minds, media
and professionals. And every advertising organization possesses such talents.
8. Consumer awareness: - Advertising is educational and dynamic in nature. It
educates the customers about the new products and their diversifications.
9. Direct link: - Advertising aims at establishing a direct link between the manufacturer
and the consumer. This rules out the possibility for a middlemen to be involved in
between.
10. Creates employment: - Advertising provides and creates more employment
opportunities for many talented people in the industry.
ADVERTISING TYPES
1. Product Advertising: Most advertising is product advertising, designed to promote
the sale or reputation of a particular product or brand. This is true whether the
advertising is done by a manufacturer, a middleman, or a dealer, and whether the
advertising concerns the product itself or some of its features, such as service, price,
or the quality directly associated with it. The objective of product advertising is to
promote particular products or services that the organization sell. The marketer may
use such promotion to generate exposure attention, comprehension, attitude change
or action for an offering.
2. Institutional Advertising: Institutional advertising is also called corporate
advertising. This type of advertising is done by institutions to build-up an image of
itself in the public mind. It is a public relations-relations-approach advertising. This
type of advertisement is sometimes aimed at general audience to explain a company
or institution and to suggest its positive attributes. There May Be Various Goals For
Doing Institutional Advertising: i. Image building ii. Build confidence and iii.
Advocacy.
3. Primary Demand Advertising: By primary demand we mean the demand of a class of
product or service and not the demand for a particular brand. Primary demand is the
demand for the whole product category. The main purpose of primary demand
 advertising is to stimulate the overall demand of the whole product category. It is
most useful when a new type of product is introduced in a market or when a product
is in the introductory stages in a given market. Such type of advertising is done to
inculcate the habit for the product among people in general and to get a favour for it
so that a permanent demand can be created in the near future.
4. Selective Demand Advertising: Relatively few completely new products appear on
the market, thus most new product introductions today are accompanied by
selective demand advertising, which promotes a specific manufacturer’s brand. Most
advertising for various products and services is concerned with stimulating selective
demand and emphasizes reasons for buying a particular brand. Advertisers generally
assume that there is a favourable level of primary demand for a product class and
focus attention on increasing their market share.
5. Comparative Advertising: This is a highly controversial trend in competitive markets
that is recently noticed. Such types of advertising stress on comparative features of
two or more specific brands in terms of product/service attributes. This method is
adopted in the maturity stage when similar products appearing the market fast
constitute a stiff competition. Comparative advertising delivers information not
previously available to consumers”. When comparative advertising appears it reveals
the intensity of competition in the market.
6. Shortage Advertising: When shortage in the supply of products occurs, advertising
often disappears into the background. A concrete example is found in the case of
petroleum products that since the oil crisis in 1974, virtually advertising for these
products ceased. But the intelligent marketers have found that advertising is still a
viable marketing tool during times of shortage. This is what is termed as shortage
advertising. In such kinds of advertising new promotional objective may be
incorporated such as:
(a) Educating the user of more efficient means of utilising the product, thus
reducing the demand;
(b) To reduce customer pressure on the sales force;
(c) Improving goodwill; and
(d) Making appeal to save resources.Save Electricity
7. Co-Operative Advertising: When manufacturers, wholesalers and/or retailers jointly
sponsor and share the expenditure on advertising, it takes the form of co-operative
advertising. Such advertising would carry the names of all the parties involved. From
the point of view of the customers this is beneficial as they could get the articles
directly from the authorised outlets. For example, the manufacturers of cars
undertake this type of advertising.
8. Commercial Advertising: It is also termed as business advertising. As the name
suggests such advertising is solely meant for effecting increase in sales. Usually the
following forms of commercial advertising are recognised:
(a) Industrial advertising —this is exclusively used for selling industrial
products.
(b) Trade advertising —advertising relating to a trade.
 (c) Professional advertising —undertaken by professional people such as
doctors, accountants, etc.
(d) Farm advertising —exclusively used for selling farm products such as
fertilisers, insecticides, farm implements, etc.
9. Non-Commercial Advertising: These are usually published by charitable institutions
preferably to solicit general and financial help (e.g., collection of donations or sale of
tickets.)
10. Direct Action Advertising: Advertising that stresses and persuades immediate buying
of the product is known as direct action advertising. Direct mail advertising is
capable of achieving immediate action to a large extent.

Objectives of ASCI:

The main objects to be pursued by the Company on its incorporation are:

To monitor administer and promote standards of advertising practices in India with a view
to.

1) Ensuring the truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made

through advertising and safeguarding against misleading advertising.

2) Ensuring that Advertising is not offensive to generally accepted norms and

standards of public decency.

3) Safeguarding against the indiscriminate use of advertising for the promotion of

products or services, which are generally regarded as hazardous to society or to
individuals or which are unacceptable to society as a whole.

4) Ensuring that advertisements observe fairness in competition and the canons of

generally accepted competitive behaviour.

5) To codify adopt and from time to time modify the code of advertising practices in
India and implement, administer and promote and publicize such a code.

6) To provide facilities and machinery in the form of one or more Consumer

Complaints Councils having such composition and with such powers as may be
prescribed from time to time to examine complaints against advertisements in
terms of the Code of Advertising practices and report thereon.

7) To give wide publicity to the Code and seek adherence to it of as many as

possible of those engaged in advertising.

8) To print and publish pamphlets, leaflets, circulars or other literature or material

that may be considered desirable for the promotion of or carrying out of the
objects of the Company and disseminate it through any medium of
communication.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PROHIBITED FROM ADVERTISING

1. Cigarettes and other tobacco products

The promotion of cigarettes and other tobacco products is a blanket prohibition. It
should not be displayed to demonstrate on any leaflet, pamphlet, or poster
advertising any cigarette brand or tobacco product (Gutka, Chewing Tobacco) and
should also not be seen on television and newspapers as this Act has an erroneous
effect on the general public.
2. Human Organs
Transplantation of (Human Organs and Tissues) Act, 1994 provides for the control of
the removal, preservation, and transplantation of human organs for medicinal
purposes, and for the prevention of trade of human organs. This legislation forbids
any advertisement that encourages individuals to supply, offer to supply or pay for
any human organ.
3. Magical Remedies
Section 3 of Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954
prohibits the advertisement of magical remedies for illnesses and disorders. The Act
describes “magic remedy” as any human or animal talisman, mantra, amulet, or any
other substance that is believed to have magical powers to heal, diagnose, prevent
or alleviate disease.
4. Pre-Natal Determination Services for Sex
Prenatal sex determination was outlawed in India in 1994, and under the Pre-
Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, advertising of
miraculous cures for diseases and disorders is forbidden. The Act seeks to stop sex-
selective abortion, which “have its roots in India’s long history of strong patriarchal
influence in all spheres of life” according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare. In India, which is also another factor that led to its prohibition, prenatal sex
determination has caused the child sex ratio to go down at alarming rates. Instead of
the historically common Act of female feticide, there has been a replacement effect
5. Physicians
Under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics)
Regulations, 2002, issued under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, doctors are
not permitted to advertise their services in any medium or form of advertisement by
any means, as it is unethical to apply directly or indirectly to patients, to a doctor, to
a group of doctors, or to institutions or organizations. (A doctor refers to a physician
with an MBBS or MBBS certification with a postgraduate degree/diploma or similar
qualification in any medical disciple
6. Legal Services
The rules of the Bar Council of India, established under the Advocates Act 1961,
strictly enforces the ban on ads and advertising rules regulating the websites of law
firms. In order to attract buyers, these laws were enacted and implemented to curb
misleading advertising by lawyers to gain attention.
7. Alcohol (Beer, Wine, and Spirits)
Any advertising directly or indirectly promoting the manufacture, sale, or
 consumption of alcohol, liquor, or other intoxicants is prohibited by the Cable
Television Network Regulations, 1994, the Advertising Codes of Doordarshan, and
the All-India Radio and Guidelines for Journalist Conduct published by the Press
Council of India. Some states, however, allow ads, albeit subject to several
limitations, through billboards, signboards, etc.
8. Food and Health
In accordance with the Section 24 of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, no
advertising may be made concerning the norm, quality, quantity, or grade
composition, and no representation relating to the need for, or usefulness of, any
food that is deceptive or deceiving or that contravenes the provisions of this law or
the rules and regulations contained therein.
9. Gaming (gambling, games of chance; differentiate between private-sector and
“state” lotteries)
In the Constitution of India, the federal system expressly grants the States the rights
to legislate on “gambling and betting”. Gambling activities in India are banned under
the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998, the Public Gambling Act 1867 and the Indian
Penal Code 1860.
The Public Gambling Act, 1867 provides for games of mere competence. The
Information Technology Act, 2000 was also amended in April 2011 to ban websites
for internet gaming and online betting. The Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 gives the
power to keep lotteries subject to specified conditions to the state government
concerned. Under section 294-A of the Indian Penal Code, lottery advertising is
punishable unless it’s in compliance with the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.
10. Religion
Under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1994, Doordarshan & All India
Radio Advertising Codes, and Norms Journalist Conduct released by the Press Council
of India, advertising based on religion or hurting religious feelings is not permitted.
11. Securities
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Securities Market-related
Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, 2003, released under section 30
of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, prohibits security trading
that is fraudulent or unfair. Furthermore, those regulations specify that the selling of
securities is considered to be a deceptive or unfair trade practice if it includes
advertising which is misleading or contains information that is misleading and which
may affect investors’ decisions.
12. Children’s Ads (advertising during and immediately before and after programming
for children)
Section 3 of the Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956 prohibits
advertisement related to any harmful publication, i.e. any publication that seeks to
corrupt a young person (person under the age of 18) by causing or influencing him or
her to commit crimes or Acts of violence or cruelty, or in any other way.
Advertisements addressed to minors, according to the ASCI Code, shall not contain
anything, whether illustrated or otherwise, that could result in physical, mental, or
moral harm or exploit their vulnerability.
13. Surrogate Advertising
The ASCI Code specifies that advertising products for which advertising is prohibited
or restricted by law or by the ASCI Code cannot bypass such restrictions by arguing
 that advertising products for which advertising is not prohibited or restricted by law
or by the ASCI Code are advertising products. In order to determine if there is
indirect advertising of banned goods, due consideration must be paid to the
following:

 The visual content of the advertising must, in any form or manner, represent
only the advertised product and not the prohibited or restricted product
 No direct or indirect reference shall be made to prohibited or limited goods in the
advertising
 The advertising shall not establish any nuances or phrases that promote prohibited
goods
 Unique colors and layouts or presentations associated with banned or limited items
must not be used in ads.
 Advertising must not take advantage of conditions characteristic of the marketing of
banned or limited goods while other products are marketed

Free Speech (specific limitations, e.g. personal slurs, defamation, political statements)

The right to freedom of speech and expression, which is also applied to an

advertisement, is protected by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. However, this
freedom is also, like any other right subject to fair restrictions imposed by Article 19(2)
of the Constitution of India.

 In addition, the ASCI Code specifies that the following ads are not permitted
 Any ethnicity, caste, color, creed, or nationality derides
 Tendencies to encourage crime or promote disorder and violence or intolerance
among people
 Presents crime as desirable or encourages individuals, particularly minors, to
imitate it or convey the modus operandi of any crime directly or indirectly
 Affects friendly ties with a foreign state adversely.

14. Sponsorships
Sponsorship is limited to providing any kind of sponsorship for products that are
banned from advertising. Also, under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, an unfair
trade practice is a misleading representation of sponsorship.

What is the Consumer Protection Act?

The Consumer Protection Act, implemented in 1986, gives easy and fast compensation to
consumer grievances. It safeguards and encourages consumers to speak against
insufficiency and flaws in goods and services. If traders and manufacturers practice any
illegal trade, this act protects their rights as a consumer. The primary motivation of this
forum is to bestow aid to both the parties and eliminate lengthy lawsuits.
This Protection Act covers all goods and services of all public, private, or cooperative
sectors, except those exempted by the central government. The act provides a platform for
a consumer where they can file their complaint, and the forum takes action against the
concerned supplier and compensation is granted to the consumer for the hassle he/she has
encountered.

Consumer Rights and Responsibilities:

The Rights of the Consumer

 Right to Safety- Before buying, a consumer can insist on the quality and guarantee of
the goods. They should ideally purchase a certified product like ISI or AGMARK.
 Right to Choose- Consumer should have the right to choose from a variety of goods
and in a competitive price.
 Right to be informed- The buyers should be informed with all the necessary details
of the product, make her/him act wise, and change the buying decision.
 Right to Consumer Education- Consumer should be aware of his/her rights and avoid
exploitation. Ignorance can cost them more.
 Right to be heard- This means the consumer will get due attention to express their
grievances at a suitable forum.
 Right to seek compensation- The defines that the consumer has the right to seek
redress against unfair and inhumane practices or exploitation of the consumer.
The Responsibilities of the Consumer

 Responsibility to be aware – A consumer has to be mindful of the safety and quality

of products and services before purchasing.
 Responsibility to think independently– Consumer should be well concerned about
what they want and need and therefore make independent choices.
 Responsibility to speak out- Buyer should be fearless to speak out their grievances
and tell traders what they exactly want
 Responsibility to complain- It is the consumer’s responsibility to express and file a
complaint about their dissatisfaction with goods or services in a sincere and fair
manner.
 Responsibility to be an Ethical Consumer- They should be fair and not engage
themselves with any deceptive practice.

Importance of Consumer Protection

 To shape Consumers- Indian customers are not well-organised, and vendors exploit
them easily.
 Impart Market Information- Most of the consumer is clueless, and have no
information about the product they are buying and this might cause them losses.
 Physical Safety- Some products are adulterated and can hamper consumer health.
So, they need to be protected.
 Avert Monopoly- Irrespective of different restriction many organisation follows
monopoly practice and consumers gets influenced and should be protected.
  Malpractices- Company pursues biased trade practices, and unlawful trade practices
and this protection plays a crucial role.
 Misleading advertisement- Many enterprises, intentionally trick consumers through
incorrect or deceptive advertisements. This act will shield consumers from getting
exploited.
 Education Consumers about their Basic Rights- Most consumers ignore or do not
know about their rights. The Consumer Protect Act educates them and secures their
rights and interests.

How to File a Complaint?

 Within two years of purchasing the product or services, the complaint should be
filled.
 In the complaint, the consumer should mention the details of the problem. This can
be an exchange or replacement of the product, compensation for mental or physical
torture. However, the declaration needs to be reasonable.
 All the relevant receipts, bills should be kept and attached to the complaint letter.
 A written complaint should be then sent to the consumer forum via email, registered
post, fax or hand-delivered. Acknowledgement is important and should not be
forgotten to receive.
 The complaint can be in any preferred language.
 The hiring of a lawyer not required.
 All the documents sent and received should be kept.