As IPL 2020 progresses, advertisers have taken the chance to advertise in an attempt to maximise exposure at a time when, because of the coronavirus, most individuals still tend to remain indoors and work from home.
We found a rise in advertisements for alcohol brands during commercial breaks. Some of them may not claim to sell CDs of music or bottled water, but they state the name of the brand, imply celebration and then gradually taper off. Some instances are here.
During the ongoing Indian Premier League ( IPL), the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has been closely tracking potential surrogate advertising for the past few weeks.
Instead of its usual weekly feeds, ASCI has put in place daily updates on the tracking of alcohol brand extension ads, for instant complaint handling.
In the past month complaints against eight advertising for whisky, beer and white liquor brands have been reported.
The ads collected range from music CDs to packaged water, non-alcoholic drinks and merchandising to those selling music CDs. The secret to ASCI’s research is to decide what are surrogates for liquor and what are legitimate extensions of the brand.
The codes and directives of ASCI are clear on what constitutes a legitimate extension of the brand:
To be considered legitimate, a brand extension of a commodity (liquor, tobacco, etc.) must be licenced with an appropriate government authority, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
In-store availability should be at least 10% of that of the leading brand in the segment in which the product wants to compete, or the profitability of sales must surpass Rs 5 crore per year or Rs 1 crore per year in each state in which it is distributed·
Such turnover and delivery data must have a clear certificate from an independent entity.
Advertising may not feature what is prohibited by law or prohibited items for such brand extensions. Neither should the ads apply to items which cannot be advertised or hint at them.
As per the rule, if they have a CBFC certificate, advertisements for liquor brand extensions will air on TV. ASCI has been verified by the IPL broadcaster for TV that all commercials are reviewed for CBFC approval so that they do not breach the Cable TV and Network Act. With that in mind, ASCI has processed complaints about OTT, digital and print media ads.
