Mumbai: At a board meeting on 18 September, Madhukar Kamath, managing director & CEO Mudra Communications Pvt. Ltd., was unanimously elected chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
Kamath in his nine years as a member of the Board of Governors has provided active support to Self-Regulation in the Advertising Movement.
During the year 2007-08, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) deliberated on 122 complaints against Advertisements of which 69 were upheld. In 52 cases, the Ads have been withdrawn or modified appropriately. It is also noteworthy that 75% of advertisers have complied with norms, including 58% who are not members of the ASCI.
Kamath said, “We aspire to taking ASCI forward through an annual workshop on current issues on self regulation. The focus in the year ahead will be stimulating interest in youth. This will be done through interactive presentations with case studies at various management and media institutes across the country.”
Bhaskar Das, the outgoing chairman said, “Last year when I took over the reins of ASCI, I was extremely fortunate to get a Council which is both knowledgeable and passionate about self regulation in advertising. ASCI as a member of European Advertising Standards Alliance has launched the pre-copy advice facility, which will benefit the advertisers, Agencies and media to avoid receiving complaints against their advertisements.”
Dhananjay Keskar, director of Indian Business School was elected vice-chairman, and Rajiv Dube, president (Passenger Car Business Unit), Tata Motors Ltd was re-appointed as the Honorary Treasurer.
The other members among the new Board of Governors are: Advertisers: Narendra Ambwani (Johnson & Johnson), Gopal Vittal (Hindustan Unilever), Shantanu Khosla (Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care), Media: Bhaskar Das (Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.), Vikram Kaushik (Tata Sky Ltd.), G Krishnan (TV Today), I Venkat (Eenadu), Advertising Agencies: Charles Cadell (Lintas India), Arvind Sharma (Leo Burnett), Srinivasan Swamy (R.K. Swamy BBDO). Allied Professions: Dilip Cherian (Perfect Relations), Pranesh Misra (Brandscapes Consultancy P. Ltd.), Partha Rakshit (AC Nielsen Research Services).