Cons heavier than pros, says industry as MIB doubles down on self-declaration certs
After the Supreme Court's directive to all advertisers and advertising agencies about submitting self-declaration certificates before publishing an ad, the industry stakeholders raised some concerns. The Indian Newspaper Society, which has more than 800 member publications under its ambit, even wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Sanjay Jaju, expressing pressing concerns about this ruling. The Supreme Court has directed that prior to broadcasting or publishing any advertisement, it is mandatory for every advertiser and advertising agency to submit a self-declaration certificate affirming that the advertisement does not make misleading claims and complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines. But in order to curb the misleading claims, the government may have not accounted for the multi-fold impacts this ruling may have on advertisers and publishers across print, electronic, and internet/digital media platforms. The upside The industry is appreciative of the intention of this move and how this will help keep consumers safeguarded from deceptive advertisements. Varghese Chandy, Vice President Marketing & Advertising Sales, Corporate Publicity at Malayala Manorama opines that the SC verdict was based on the Patanjali advertisements that were published. Of course, it is in the good interest of the consumer so they are not misdirected in the decision to buy harmful or fake products. Nisha Narayanan, COO & Director, Red FM & Magic FM also acknowledges and respects the Supreme Court's intention to curb misleading advertising through this mandate. A source, who did not wish to be named, said, “The good thing is that this will make advertisers a bit more conscious about the consumer. Also, when an advertiser declares that the information provided by them is fully correct, discipline will be established to some degree.” The downside However, the challenges weigh heavier than the opportunities that this directive provides for the print, radio and digital advertising industry. Here are a few: For Print The INS’s letter noted that several print advertisements do not contain any claims, especially those not related to medicine or treatment. Many ads are from small businesses which are purely informational and do not include claims at all that could mislead consumers. These businesses may also find it difficult to upload such certificates due to limited resources and technical expertise. “There are millions of advertisers and to ask each to follow this procedure becomes extremely difficult to manage. There is no way one could actually ensure that every advertiser will file this declaration and then carry the advertisement,” said Chandy. Experts suggest many advertisements are planned at the eleventh hour as a part of topical marketing and publishers often have to ensure the ad gets out in time. This additional layer would add a dramatic level of bureaucracy for advertisers resulting in financial losses or dissatisfied advertisers. So time-led advertising ensures the ability to react fast but that will become a big casualty. For digital publishers There are a lot of creatives that get generated these days. So if there are 4 mother creatives, then AI makes 4000 creatives out of it. Now putting every creative on the portal of the government to obtain a certificate before it can be printed, will reduce the cost efficiency of many advantages related to AI, according to the source. The source also underlined how a digital publication is also an advertiser mostly on its own platform about their upcoming events or conferences. Will they need to obtain a certificate for publishing an ad on their own website as well? Implementing self-declaration for programmatic advertisements on digital platforms is technically unfeasible and could significantly affect the volumes since programmatic ads rely on automated systems to place ads in real time. Introducing a manual certification process would disrupt this automation, according to the INS letter. For radio Narayanan highlighted, “The financial impact on business and revenues could be extreme. Moreover, the FM Radio broadcast industry is already heavily regulated and duly complies with the AIR Code for Commercial Advertising, which ensures that misleading advertisements are not aired. So we would like some re-consideration for the same.” FM Radio is a hyper-local broadcast medium and is driven by ad-revenues, as per her. It mostly relies on local advertisers in the tier 2-3 markets, who lack the infrastructure to fulfil the complex requirements of the Broadcast Seva portal. This would likely result in significant revenue losses for these stations, risking their survival. As a middle ground, the source suggested that certain industries like health supplements, betting and rummy, who have been active defaulters in the past should be the ones who should be targeted and not the whole industry. They can also create a body to keep a check on misleading advertisements or at least be open to industry feedback/suggestions. The INS letter also suggests that deferring the implementation would provide necessary time to address these issues, develop clear and detailed instructions and ensure all stakeholders are adequately prepared to meet new regulatory demands. For more updates, be socially connected with us on
It stated, “While we appreciate the initiative to safeguard consumer interests and uphold the integrity of advertisements, the practical implications of this directive have raised several operational challenges.”
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Tags : Nisha Narayanan Ministry Of Information & Broadcasting Sanjay Jaju Varghese Chandy Self Declaration Certificate