Celebrities Beware Of New Endorsement Norms; Rs 10 Lakh Penalty
The government has tightened norms for endorsers, including celebrities and sports persons, as they are now required to make material connection disclosure and due diligence while endorsing in advertisements.
Based on the new guidelines released by the Consumer Affairs Ministry issued on Friday, endorsements must reflect endorsers' honest opinions, beliefs or experiences.
The endorsers must make material connection disclosures; failing to do so will attract a penalty under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
Material disclosures mean any relationship that materially affects the weight or credibility of any endorsement that a reasonable consumer would not expect.
"If there exists a connection between the endorser and the trader, manufacturer or advertiser of the endorsed product that might materially affect the value or credibility of the endorsement and the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience, such connection shall be fully disclosed in making the endorsement," the guidelines said.
Violation of these guidelines will attract a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for the first offence and Rs 50 lakh for a subsequent offence under the Consumer Protection Act.
The new guidelines 'Prevention of misleading advertisements and necessary due diligence for endorsement of advertisements', which came into effect from June 10, 2022, have been issued to prevent misleading advertisements.
It provides various criteria for an advertisement to be considered valid and non-misleading and gives clarity on bait advertisements, surrogate advertisements and free claims advertisements.Â
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
