Fast moving consumer goods players Dabur, HLL, PSU BPCL, Korean car maker Hyundai, liqour barron Vijay Malaya's Mcdowell and TVS motors are among the major companies found to violate Advertising Standards Council of India code during the first quarter of the current calendar year.
ASCI had taken action against 16 advertising campaigns by different companies, of which seven were asked to withdraw, while nine were asked to modify for violation of the codes.
The council asked Dabur India to discontinue its Red Toothpaste commercial after the company was unable to substantiate claims made in a television commercial, in which it said specific indgredients in the product could give the consumer strong teeth.
Hindustan Lever's Clinic All Clear, which is now being endorsed by Bollywood couple Bipasha Basu and John Abraham, was also on the list of defaulters.
The company was found guilty of 'false and misleading' campaigns in its hoardings and radio commercials. HLL had projected the shampoo as a solution to hair fall through its tag-line baal girney ka sawaal hi nahi (no question of hair fall). ASCI ordered HLL to remove the hoardings and radio commercials.
Another company, which had to face the music on account of a misleading commercial, was Mcdowell's Co. The council identified the company's advertisement promoting Mcdowell's No 1 Soda 'misleading by its ambiguity' as the mere mention of soda was inconspicuous and totally delinked from the brand name. ASCI ordered the company to withdraw its print version.
BPCL's advertisement featuring speedster Narain Karthikeyen was found to encourage excessive speed and dangerous driving on a busy roadway in the absence of any caution notice to viewers.
The council ordered BPCL to withdraw the commercial and asked it to run a statutory warning in case it wants to continue with the campaign.
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