ASCI launches Endorser Due Diligence service for brand ambassadors 

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has launched the Endorser Due Diligence service to help endorsers and brand ambassadors follow the ASCI code and help them assess claims by advertisers.

According to the Consumer Protection Act (2019), brand ambassadors will be obligated to undertake due diligence for advertisements they appear in. The 'Endorsers Due Diligence' service will offer ASCI’s expertise in advertising assessment, including technical claims that are part of the advertisement.

ASCI has established a panel of experts, from over 20 disciplines, ranging from advertising regulation and legal, ayurveda, microbiology, electronics, market research, nutrition, dentistry, product formulations, financial services, and so on.

The panel will assess the representations, statements, and claims in the advertisement from a consumer and technical perspective, examine the evidence in support of the claim where necessary, and thereby help the endorser conduct their due diligence, according to the rules. 

 

Last year, ASCI had launched its ‘advertising advice’ service to help advertisers determine whether their claims could potentially violate its code or guidelines and take corrective action right at the pre-planning stage.

Now, it is extending a similar service to celebrity endorsers and both these are paid advisory services.

The advertisements can be sent to ASCI at any stage, including pre-production. This ensures that the endorser can do their independent due diligence before the advertisement is produced.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for the imposition of fines or even prohibiting the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making an endorsement of any product or service for a period, which may extend to one year. However, the act also provides for a waiver of such penalties or suspension if the endorsers have exercised due diligence to verify the claims made in any advertisement endorsed by them.

This comes at a time when the Consumer Protection Act as well as ASCI’s code requires brand endorsers to ensure that representations made by them in ads do not mislead consumers.

An endorser can be prohibited from endorsing any product or service for a period which can extend to one year. However, the Act states that, “no endorser shall be liable to a penalty if he/she exercised due diligence to verify the veracity of the claims made in the advertisement regarding the product or service being endorsed by him/her”.