The concept of marketing is usually perceived to be a product of the industrial revolution; however, marketing is old as the Bronze Age human civilisations. Historians have found that markets and trade were very much in existence in those civilisations, only the ways were different.
Now, with the coming in of the industrial revolution (early 17th Century), marketing products saw an upward trend. The trend was catapulted with the inventions like television and radio. And soon, marketing became a tool of the producers to manipulate the consumers in their favour. Be it product, service, or ideology, everything was marketed. The fact that marketing is a double-edged sword became apparent. Thus, every society took steps to protect its people from adverse marketing strategies.Code of conduct for the advertisers was laid and a regulating body was set up.
In India, the developments came in a little late due to the slow growth decades after independence in 1947. But with television sets taking the Indian market by storm, India too took cognisance of the impact of marketing on consumers. Consequently, in 1985, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) was established. ASCI is a self-regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry in India.
Committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ASCI aims to ensure the protection of the interest of consumers. The body promotes healthy advertising and tried to uphold and enhance public confidence in advertisement.
Four basic pillars on which the ASCI functions are:
• Does the product actually deliver the claim been made? To ensure the truthfulness andhonesty of representation and claim made advertisements.
• To ensure that advertisements are not offensive to generally accepted standards ofpublic decency.
• Responsibility in advertisements.Does the ad shows any dangerous situation and stunts without proper warning? Could it be harmful to children?
• To safeguard against the in-discriminable use ofadvertising for promotion.
• To ensure that advertisements observe fairness in competition so as to inform the consumer onchoice in the marketplace.
However, many-a-times, advertisers choose promotion strategies that misinform the consumers or demean other brands. ASCI also sees if the copyright in infringed by an advertiser. Marketing, especially through audio-visual medium can create rift among societies and enrage one against other. It may also create a class divide between those who use a superior brand of the product and those who use an unknown brand. Due to these very facts, the role of ASCI assumes even more signifacnce.
To regulate advertisement, ASCI follows a code for self-regulation in advertising (called the ASCI code). The ASCI code is recognized under various Indian Laws in addition to it being adopted by the advertising industry bodies. It provides that it is not in competition with any law. The ASCI code is designed only to complement legal controls under such laws and not to replace them.
