ASCI

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory body that was established in 1985.
ASCI's mission is to improve and maintain the public's trust in advertising.

ASCI 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.

For the purpose of this Code:

• An advertisement is defined as a paid-for communication, addressed to the public or a section of it, the purpose of
which is to promote, directly or indirectly, the sale or use of goods and services to whom it is addressed. Any
communication which in the normal course may or may not be recognised as advertisement by the general public,
but is paid for, or owned or authorised by the advertiser or their advertising agency would be included in the
definition.
• A product is anything which forms the subject of an advertisement, and includes goods, services and facilities.

• A consumer is any person or corporate body who is likely to be reached by an advertisement, whether as an
ultimate consumer, in the way of trade, or otherwise.
• An advertiser is anybody, including an individual or partnership or corporate body or association, on whose brief
the advertisement is designed, and on whose account the advertisement is released.
• An advertising agency includes all individuals, partnerships, corporate bodies or associations, who or which work
for planning, research, creation or placement of advertisements, or the creation of material for advertisements for
advertisers, or for other advertising agencies.

• Media owners are organisations or individuals in effective control of the management of media, or their agents.
Media are any means used for the propagation of advertisements and include press, cinema, radio, television,
hoardings, hard bills, direct mail, posters, internet, digital etc.
• Children are defined as persons who are below the age of 12 years
• Any written or graphic matter on packaging, whether unitary or bulk, or contained in

it, is subject to this Code in the same manner as any advertisement in any other

medium.

• To publish is to carry the advertisement in any media, whether by printing,

exhibiting, broadcasting, displaying, distributing, etc.

To ensure truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made by advertisements, and to
safeguard against misleading advertisements

• Advertisements must be truthful. All descriptions, claims and comparisons, which relate to matters of objectively
ascertainable fact, should be capable of substantiation. Advertisers and advertising agencies are required to
produce such substantiation as and when called upon to do so by The Advertising Standards Council of India.
• Where advertising claims are expressly stated to be based on, or supported by independent research or assessment,
its source and date should be indicated in the advertisement.

• Advertisements shall not, without permission from the person, firm or institution under reference,
contain any reference to such person, firm or institution, which confers an unjustified advantage on the
product advertised or tends to bring the person, firm or institution into ridicule or disrepute.
• Advertisements shall neither distort facts nor mislead the consumer by means of implications or
omissions. Advertisements shall not contain statements or visual presentation, which directly, or by
 implication or by omission or by ambiguity or by exaggeration, are likely to mislead the consumer
about the product advertised or the advertiser, or about any other product or advertiser.

Advertisements shall not be so framed as to abuse the trust of consumers, or exploit their lack of
experience or knowledge. No advertisement shall be permitted to contain any claim so exaggerated as to
lead to grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers.

Obvious untruths or exaggerations intended to amuse or to catch the eye of the consumer are permissible,
provided that they are clearly to be seen as humorous or hyperbolic, and not likely to be understood as
making literal or misleading claims for the advertised product.

• Advertisements should contain nothing indecent, vulgar, especially in the depiction of women, or nothing repulsive which
is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave and widespread offence.

No advertisement shall be permitted which:

• Tends to incite people to crime or to promote disorder and violence or intolerance.
• Derides any individual or groups on the basis of race, caste, colour, religion, gender,

body shape, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental conditions,

or nationality

• Presents criminality as desirable, or directly or indirectly encourages people –

particularly children – to emulate it, or conveys the modus operandi of any crime.

• Adversely affects friendly relations with a foreign State.

• Advertisements addressed to children shall not contain anything, whether in illustration or otherwise,
which might result in their physical, mental or moral harm, or which exploits their vulnerability.
• Advertisements should contain nothing which is in breach of the law, nor omit anything which the law
requires.

AAAI
On September 21, 1945, 60 years ago, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) was registered as a society in
Calcutta. 4 agencies from Calcutta –D J Keymer, General Advertising Agency, J WalterThomson Co. and Press Syndicate –
and 3 agencies from Bombay – Adarts, Lintas and National Advertising Service – were the signatories in the registrar‟s
office doing the honours. Initially the registered office of the Association was located at 37, Chowringhee, Calcutta.
Calcutta, under the BritishRaj, was a vibrant commercial city. In 1961, the AAAI office was shifted to Bombay.

OBJECTIVES
The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the official, national organization of advertising
agencies, formed to promote their interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing
contribution to the nation, by working towards the following objectives:

• To benefit Indian consumers and to protect their interests by helping ensure that advertising is honest and in
good taste.

• To benefit Indian advertisers by promoting their sales, increasing their sales

and increasing productivity &profitability, to stimulate business and industrial activity.
• To benefit media by establishing sound business practices between advertisers and advertising agencies and each
of the various media owners.
• To benefit the nation by harnessing advertising for the good of the country, its institutions, its citizens; to co-
operate with the Government in promoting its social objectives and in the task of nation-building.
• To question advertising that is wasteful and extravagant; to make it possible for the small entrepreneur togrow
through advertising and to compete with the biggest; to encourage market and media research; toserve society by
meeting its social responsibilities.

• To encourage the interest of young individuals in the business of communication, to assist in education and
training programmes and to provide information of benefit to members. Non-members are also provided this
service for a fee.
• To establish a common platform in building and sustaining the prestige of the advertising profession and to serve
as a spokesman against unwarranted attacks or restrictions on advertising.
• To establish a forum where representatives of advertisers, advertising agencies, media owners and Government
can meet on mutual ground and examine problems of mutual concern.

• To offer effective co-operation and liaison with Government officials and bodies for the purpose of broadening
their understanding of the role of advertisers, advertising and advertising agencies.
• To co-operate with Government bodies in discussion of matters such as taxes, radio and TV advertising,
legislation, political campaign advertising, controls on pharmaceuticals, tobacco or liquor advertising and other
subjects of similar complexity and sensitivity.
• The AAAI today is truly representative, with a very large number of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its
members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country. It is thus
recognized at all forums -- advertisers, media owners and associations, and even Government -- as the
spokesperson for the advertising industry.