MS Dhoni, Bhuvan Bam among top celebrities violating advertising rules: ASCI

ASCI claimed that the complaints against the celebrities witnessed an 803% jump to as many as 503 advertisements compared to 55 last year.

“In spite of the Consumer Protection Act now legally requiring celebrities to do their due diligence when they appear in ads, in 97 percent of cases processed by ASCI featuring celebrities, they failed to provide any evidence of due diligence,” the report said.

The regulatory body said that MS Dhoni is on top of the list of celebrities who have failed to do necessary due diligence and featured in ten counts of non-compliance. Comedian YouTuber Bhuvan Bam followed MS Dhoni with seven counts of non-compliance.

According to the ASCI report, the categories that had the highest number of problematic content and violated advertising regulations were gaming, classical education, healthcare, and personal care. These categories accounted for more than half of the total violations.

In the fiscal year 2023, the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry received a total of 8,951 complaints. Out of these complaints, 7,928 advertisements across various media formats were reviewed for potential violations. Notably, three-fourths of the processed ads were found on digital media platforms.

“This (violation on digital media) raises serious concerns about the safety of consumers in the online space,” the body said.

One-fourth of total complaints received by the ASCI involve influencers, with personal being top among violators.

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) claims to be a independent, voluntary self-regulatory organisation established to ensure advertisements in India are fair, honest and are compliant with the ASCI Code.