Advertising body upgrades disclaimer guidelines, wants less content more clarity

Be it telcos promising uninterrupted connectivity in any part of India or fairness creams setting unrealistic beauty standards, claims made in advertisements aren't always accurate. Then there are ads for insurance and mutual funds, where a narrator quickly reads through legal disclaimers. Now the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has announced new guidelines to make sure that consumers get the complete clarification on claims made during TV commercials.

Upgrading norms for clarity

Now advertisers will have to display disclaimers which are readable and have headlines simplified for all users. These disclaimers should also remain on the screen for four seconds at least. The overuse of disclaimers must also be avoided in ads, since it affects the visibility of all the information for viewers.

Disclaimers should clear ambiguities and give more clarity about a claim made in an ad, but shouldn't contradict it. Material information shouldn't be hidden and the disclaimer should't be a tool to correct misleading claims in the ad.

Too many disclaimers do more harm than good

The organisation has stepped in after learning that 80 per cent of the consumers miss out on disclaimers in advertisements. Only one disclaimer per frame and only two full lines of text are now mandatory, to clear the clutter for the target audience. About 62 per cent people have mentioned in a survey that they found disclaimers too long, and 33 per cent couldn't understand them clearly.