In a few seconds, advertisers tell us stories from a fairy-tale world of the strongest, whitest, coolest and simply the best. And alas, like most fairy-tales, advertisements are often false. How can consumers be better informed? The products are everything they are not supposed to be. More complicated still is the case of products like liquor and tobacco, which are banned from being advertised in the mass media.
The makers of most of these products which are banned from advertisements resort to 'surrogate advertising' – a sort of indirect advertising in which a 'cover product' is made to point towards the actual product, the latter being banned from advertising. For instance, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Government of India, has banned the advertising of tobacco and liquor. But many liquor brands (like McDowell's whisky) initiate other products like sodas in the same name which are then advertised. Similarly, many 'gutkha' brands introduce their pan masala products which indirectly advertise the gutkhas. Another instance of surrogate advertising is 'Four Square Bravery Awards' in the name of Four Square cigarettes.
And what better advertising than Bollywood hits showing superstars consuming the products in question. Shah Rukh Khan was shown smoking a cigar in 'Devdas'. In the ruffle over this which followed, the MoH indicated to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) that display of smoking in mass media must be banned. The MoIB in turn was pressurized by the film industry against imposition of such a ban. The industry suggested instead that self-regulation be imposed. Of course, no self-regulation was practiced since Amitabh Bachchan was again seen smoking in the film Bunty aur Bubli.
The makers of most of these products which are banned from advertisements resort to 'surrogate advertising' – a sort of indirect advertising in which a 'cover product' is made to point towards the actual product, the latter being banned from advertising. For instance, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Government of India, has banned the advertising of tobacco and liquor. But many liquor brands (like McDowell's whisky) initiate other products like sodas in the same name which are then advertised. Similarly, many 'gutkha' brands introduce their pan masala products which indirectly advertise the gutkhas. Another instance of surrogate advertising is 'Four Square Bravery Awards' in the name of Four Square cigarettes.
And what better advertising than Bollywood hits showing superstars consuming the products in question. Shah Rukh Khan was shown smoking a cigar in 'Devdas'. In the ruffle over this which followed, the MoH indicated to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) that display of smoking in mass media must be banned. The MoIB in turn was pressurized by the film industry against imposition of such a ban. The industry suggested instead that self-regulation be imposed. Of course, no self-regulation was practiced since Amitabh Bachchan was again seen smoking in the film Bunty aur Bubli.
But one wonders if advertising can indeed influence people's minds to an extent such as inducing them to smoke, drink etc. Yes, says, Parag Paul Choudhury of Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE), a Delhi-based NGO, also member of Consumer International. Choudhury cites the example of Rajnikant, the popular actor of films in the south, who had a particular style of flipping a cigarette to his lips. Boys in the south unconsciously started trying to flip the cigarette in the same manner and many took to smoking through this playful, imitative initiation.
Choudhury also talks about the shifting target of the advertising industry. Through the 60's and 70's it was the house-wife but this gave way to youth being the target of the ads. The focus then shifted to children, which continues even today. He says that today, children can be seen in ads which are not at all child-products. He cites the Maruti Esteem ad in which two children compare whose daddy has the bigger car. "In fact, today 84% of parents take their children along when buying products which are not child-products – simply because children have a big say in buying decisions," Choudhury says.
The advertising agencies have formed an association called the Advertising Agencies' Association of India (AAAI) which also has a governing board called the Advertising Standard Council of India. The AAAI is almost like a union with the main function of protecting the rights and interests of the agencies. The governing board on the other hand, forms rules, regulations and guidelines to be followed by AAAI in order to facilitate work in a structured manner. The governing board also represents the agencies before the government.
According to VOICE, both of these organizations are only namesake. Far from performing their watchdog functions, they often succumb to pressure from various corners. For instance, if a client has a problem with one agency member, another agency member takes up the assignment of the client. There is no teeth in the association's or the board's statements or actions, says Choudhury. The most they do is to withdraw ads if there is an uproar over them.
Choudhury says, tests invariably reveal that products advertised heavily fare very badly compared to the less advertised ones. What about consumer rights vis-à-vis advertising? According to Choudhury, there is a very strong interface between advertising and consumer rights. First of all, he says, this includes the right to have a transparent system to know about a brand or a product. It includes the right to demand during-sales and after-sales service, right to know how the pricing is arrived at, right to know the terms and conditions which apply – information to which the consumer is typically not privy. These rights are documented and recognised by India's Ministry of Law, and based on international agreements and standards which India adheres to. For instance, in the Hero Honda bike ad, a son escorts his blind father to 'see' the 'super' brand of the bike. But there is hardly anything superior about the 'super' brand. Only cosmetic changes have been made in the non-super variety with no real changes in the body, engine or fuel-consumption of the original product.
As for VOICE, one of its main activities is product testing, which aims to educate the consumers in order to facilitate informed choices among them. Every month 10-12 different brands of a particular product category are tested. According to Choudhury, these tests invariably reveal that the most advertised products fare very badly as compared to the less advertised ones. For instance, in a latest test of ceiling fans, Usha and Bajaj turned out to be worst while Havell and Orient were the best. In a test of shaving creams, V-John – a product usually rejected by classy urban youth because of very low pricing – turned out to be second best. Also, 6 of the 8 shaving creams tested were found to be underweight by 2-3 gm – this seemingly negligible amount, when stretched over the millions of pieces produced, saves the companies tons of shaving cream.
These test reports can be bought online at VOICE's website at http://www.consumer-voice.org.
VOICE says it will soon launch a 24X7 call centre where consumers can call for product complaints. The organisation plans to help by getting in touch with manufacturers and shopkeepers.
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