New Delhi: As much as 87 per cent of Indian consumers found it difficult to read, view or hear disclaimers in print, television, radio and digital advertisements, according to a LocalCircles survey.
Published Friday, the survey collected over 1,15,000 responses across more than 320 districts in India.
Of the 87 per cent Indian consumers, 65 per cent said the disclaimers were very difficult to hear, view and read, and 22 per cent said they were somewhat difficult to hear, view and read. A separate 7 per cent said disclaimers were quite clear and 6 per cent did not comment.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ draft guidelines for advertisements released in early September, non-legible disclaimers are to be treated as misleading.
The guidelines also mention that disclaimers should be in the “same language” as the claim of the advertisement, the font should be the same as the claim and should be placed on the packaging in a “prominent and visible space”.
Among the respondents in the survey, 71 per cent were men and 29 per cent were women. While 51 per cent were from tier 1 cities, 34 per cent were from tier 2, and 15 per cent were from tier 3, 4 cities and rural areas.
86% have come across ads inappropriate for kids
The survey also asked respondents on which platform they came across advertisements that were inappropriate for children.
In response, 19 per cent said television, 4 per cent said in general video platforms like YouTube and 27 per cent said both of these, while 2 per cent said newspapers, 34 per cent said all three media, 4 per cent said none of these and 10 per cent said they were unsure.
In total, 86 per cent of Indian consumers said they have come across advertisements that were inappropriate for children on a range of media platforms.
73% say they have come across ‘bait advertising’
The survey stated that 73 per cent of Indian consumers said they have come across ‘bait advertising’ in the past one year where products are offered at exceptionally low prices or are part of good deals.
Of them, 47 per cent said a product was advertised at an exceptionally low price, but wasn’t available at that price when visited at the store, app or website, and 26 per cent said the product was available at that same price at a store, app or website as in the advertisement but with additional conditions.
A separate 27 per cent said a product was advertised at an exceptionally low price and was available at the same price at a store, app or website.
Another finding of the survey was that 75 per cent of Indian consumers said they have come across advertisements for apps, games and other online products and services in the past one year, which they felt were designed to mislead children into spending.
As many as 51 per cent said they had come across many such advertisements, 24 per cent said they came across a few, 2 per cent said they didn’t come across any such ads and 23 per cent were unsure about this.
When asked if the government should prohibit advertisements from gaming platforms or websites where a person can earn or lose money, 77 per cent said yes, while only 18 per cent said no, and the remaining 5 per cent didn’t comment.
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