The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has won two International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) awards, one each for the ‘Best Awareness Raising Initiative’ and in the ‘Special Category’. It also got a special mention in the ‘Best Sectoral Initiative’ category.

The awards it won were:

• Best Awareness-Raising Initiative:For the impactful ASCI Aston scroll that ran on all TV channels and was supported by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which achieved exceptional reach and maximised awareness about the self-regulating organisation
• Special Prize:For expansion of ASCI’s suo motu monitoring of misleading claims in ads across 3,000 digital platforms
• Special Mention, Best Sectoral Initiative:For the guidelines for advertisements about online gaming involving real money winnings, again supported by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

There were a total of four award categories. This global recognition is a validation of ASCI’s self-regulation practices, which ensure the inclusion and interests of all stakeholders. To magnify its awareness amongst consumers and to encourage them to call out misleading advertising claims, ASCI launched the Aston scroll that ran across several TV channels.

This significantly raised awareness about ASCI and more consumers started to reach out to ASCI.  ASCI now monitors 80% of India’s advertising spends through suo motu tracking, with its coverage of 3000 digital platforms, in addition to its vast TV and print coverage. It may be recalled that recently as part of the Influencer Guidelines, ASCI also plans to deploy an AI based technology to monitor influencer advertising.

The awards  are a significant recognition  of ASCI’s, it’s increasing importance on the global stage. The global recognition for India’s advertising self-regulation underscores its effectiveness in keeping advertising honest and truthful, and protecting the rights of consumers.

Recently, ASCI General Secretary Manisha Kapoor was also appointed as a Vice President of the executive committee of ICAS. With the Indian advertising industry evolving fast and digitalisation boosting growth, the appointment adds value and will create new perspectives for the advertising industry.

Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI, said, “We are delighted to receive the recognitions; it’s a proud moment for ASCI. This is a validation of self-regulation for the advertising industry in India and global recognition of the role ASCI has played over the past 35 years.

“We are excited to be part of the worldwide conversation around advertising and we hope to change the narrative of the Indian industry.

“Our vision for this year is to lead  ASCI’s journey to becoming a future facing organization. We successfully launched the Guidelines For Influencer Advertising In Digital Media recently and coming up soon is GenderNext, a deep-dive study to understand the portrayal of women in advertising and to ensure its positive evolution,” Kamath said.