By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE
Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved has come under the scanner of Indian advertising watchdog Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) for several misleading ads. ASCI ruled that ads by the Haridwar-based FMCG company "unfairly denigrates" other products in the market. Patanjali took flak for ads of hair oil, mustard oil and washing powders.
Patanjali Kesh Kanti Natural Hair Cleanser & Oil's advertisement's claim, "mineral oil is carcinogenic in nature and may cause cancer" was false and misleading by ambiguity and by gross exaggeration," said ASCI. The company's Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil advertisement's claim that most of the other edible refined oils and mustard oils are made using neurotoxin Hexagon solvent extraction process, as many companies mix cheap palm oil in mustard oil, to make profits at the cost of consumers' health, was also not substantiated and was misleading, ASCI added.
Similarly, for its Herbal Washing Powder, Cake and Dishwash Bar, the claim of "herbal washing powder, cake and dishwash bar" was not substantiated with data regarding which herbal ingredients in the product provide the cleaning benefit and was deemed misleading by ASCI.
Apart from Patanjali, ASCI upheld complaints against companies such as, ITC, Kalyan Jewellers, Johnson & Johnson and HUL, among others. Johnson & Johnson's advertising of Benadryl DR was pulled up. The advertisement's claim, "sookhi khansi ko dobara aane se roke" (stops dry cough from reoccurring) is an absolute claim and was not substantiated. Also, the claim does not convey a "suppressive" action and is misleading by exaggeration, said ASCI.
FMCG major ITC's advertising claim for Aashirvaad Multigrain Atta that said, "India's No. 1 Atta", is misleading by ambiguity as the claim was for the mother brand Aashirvaad whereas the advertised product was only one variant — Aashirvaad Atta with multigrains. Also, the disclaimer was not as per Nielsen criteria, the watchdog said.
For Kalyan Jewellers, the advertisement claim, "Kalyan Jewellers is the biggest jewellery showroom in the world", was not substantiated with comparative data of other similar showrooms and was misleading by exaggeration, said ASCI.
In March, ASCI's Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 90 out of 156 advertisements. Out of 90 advertisements against which complaints were upheld, 32 belonged to the education category, 30 in the healthcare & personal care category, followed by 10 in the food & beverages category and 18 advertisements from other categories.
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