D2C brands behind 84% of all objectionable personal care ads since FY2022: ASCI
2 min read 02 Feb 2023, 02:40 PM ISTTwo years ago, the council had released separate guidelines for social media influencers to help them avoid violating advertising codes
PremiumNew Delhi: Personal care product companies put out the most ‘objectionable’ advertisements in financial year (FY) 2021-22, and the first three quarters of FY23, according to a new report from The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) titled ‘Objectionable ads in the beauty & personal care category and the rising impact of influencer marketing & D2C brands‘.
It said the personal care sector has emerged as one of the top three violators, contributing 12% of all objectionable advertisements scrutinised by the council.
The number of violations in the personal care category has grown over four-fold of late. ASCI said it processed complaints against 1,126 personal care advertisements in FY22 and the first three quarters of FY23, versus just 347 in the two years prior.
Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary, ASCI, said, “Personal care, particularly on digital platforms, is a high engagement space for consumers and it is important that their interests be protected."
There was a 272% rise in the number of ads processed monthly from 2019 to 2023, ASCI noted. It said 5.7% of ads that violated its code were from the personal hygiene category, 30.3% from skin care, 24.7% from cosmetics, and 19.4% from hair care, and that 17.5% of such ads spanned multiple categories.
While personal care has always been among the top 10 categories in terms of violations, it has risen to the top three in the past two years, ASCI said, on account of high volumes of ads.
Two years ago, the council had released separate guidelines for social media influencers to help them avoid violating advertising codes.
Influencers were responsible for 68% of the ads processed in the personal care category, of which 92% violated the code and required modifications, ASCI said. Of these, 77% were not contested and the voluntary compliance rate was 91%.
Additionally, about 84% of violative ads were those of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, which have a large presence on social and digital platforms.
About a quarter (24%) of complaints across categories ASCI received from consumers, industry and consumer organisations between Q1 and Q3 of FY23 were for personal care ads. The other top violators mentioned in the report were education at 26% and healthcare at 15%.
According to a report, advertising spends in India are projected to grow at 15.2% in 2023 and 15.7% in 2024, the highest for any market in the world. In 2022, Indian advertising grew at 16%, said a report by Dentsu titled ‘Global Ad Spend Forecasts’.
The growth rate for ad spends in China is forecast at 4% in 2023 and 5.4% in 2024. Around the world, ad spends will likely grow at about 8.7% in 2022-23, it said. The Indian advertising market will hit $11.1 billion in 2022-23, led primarily by digital advertising, which will grow 31.6%, and television ads, which are expected to grow 14.5%.
