The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released a set of guidelines in a bid to protect consumers’ interest and encourage celebrities and advertisers to refrain from endorsing misleading advertisements.
Stating that celebrities have a huge responsibility to ensure that the products they endorse are true to the claims made in advertisements, it said that such ads should not violate the ASCI code.
It also elaborated celebrities should not endorse product prohibited by various law such as the Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954.
It also said that they should not endorse a product which by law requires a health warning.
The guidelines also state that , testimonials, endorsements or representations of opinions or preference of celebrities must reflect genuine, reasonably current opinion of the individual making such representations, and must be based upon adequate information about or experience with the product or service being advertised.