Indians have low trust in ads, many find instances of misleading celebrity endorsements: Survey

A recent survey noted that Indians have low trust in ads.

Misleading advertisements and false claims in such endorsements are resulting in low trust in ads, according to a survey.

Majority of the consumers surveyed showed low levels of trust in advertisements, noted a survey by LocalCircles that analyzed over 37,000 responses from consumers located in 312 districts of India.

It said that 73 percent of consumers surveyed have low levels of trust in advertisements while 84 percent said they have come across advertisements by celebrities in the last 12 months which they later found to be misleading or false.

The survey asked consumers about their trust level in different forms of media – print, TV, radio, digital. The query received 12,810 responses, out of which 73 percent or almost three out of four respondents indicated that they have low levels of trust in advertisements.

Regarding the query on misleading advertisements with celebrities, the query received 12,341 responses, out of which 84 percent indicated that they have come across at least a few advertisements endorsed by celebrities in the last 12 months which they later found to be misleading.

The data showed 52 percent have come across several of such misleading advertisements and 32 percent have come across few of them.

In addition, 73 percent of respondents want that advertisement industry should be regulated by a
body like CCPA (Central Consumer Protection Authority).

Misleading advertisements continue to be regulated through industry body ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) and complaints are also filed with Broadcast Seva, Press Council of India and the National Consumer Helpline, said community social media platform LocalCircles.

It added that advertisement being a powerful medium whether through radio, print media, television or digital media, and given the varying degree of bad experience of a majority of consumers surveyed, the government needs to step in and ensure some sort of accountability for misleading or misinforming the public.

The government also needs to take into consideration that 73 percent of consumers want a change in regulator and that 84 percent of respondents have noticed several instances of misleading ads with celebrities and that explains the low levels of trust and the ineffectiveness of the regulators currently responsible, the platform said.

According to consumers, the consumer protection regulator needs to be responsible and accountable for the guidelines and their enforcement as the government proposes a unified system for complaints against misleading ad, LocalCircles said.

A few months back, the Supreme Court mandated all companies to submit a self declaration form before advertising any product. The order which came into effect from June 18, requires the
companies to fill a self-declaration form confirming that their advertisements do not contain any misleading claims.

The apex court has also asked influencers and celebrities to endorse products with a sense of responsibility. As a result, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is reportedly working on bringing in a unified system to tackle consumer complaints against misleading advertisements.

The Supreme Court order comes in the backdrop of the ongoing case against Baba Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali Ayurveda, and Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali, over alleged misleading advertisements.

The SC had issued a contempt notice against them in February for violating the order against misleading advertisements of its products claiming cure for some diseases and criticizing the allopathy branch of medicines.

Misleading advertisements touched a new peak during the pandemic with so many brands claiming to protect consumers from the Covid virus or boosting immunity.

From mattresses to multivitamins and from hand sanitizers to even readymade clothing, even many household brands misled the consumer.

During this period, there was a rise of digital influencers and most of them were promoting a brand but would refrain from declaring it transparently.

With limited action from the self-regulating body ASCI and the government, the misleading advertisements and influencer media have continued post pandemic as well and this has led to significant reduction of trust of consumers in advertisements, LocalCircles said.