Archives: Advertising

So the moral guardians of Indian virtues have acted again. This time, with quite a heavy hand. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has ordered television channels not to broadcast "overtly sexual" deodorant adverts that use female models in racy storylines. What else can you expect from the ministry of Ambika Soni, who rose to fame and notoreity during the Emergency era? ...

The health minister, S Ramadoss, is at it again. This time he wants to ban liquor advertisements. He has expressed “disappointment” over alcohol advertisements at airports across the country and has written to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for their removal, according to CNN-IBN. [Link] Ramadoss has written to the civil aviation ministry for removal of advertisements of alcoholic drinks on display at airports in Delhi and elsewhere across the country in August but no action was taken. “However, the minister for health and family welfare has found that the hoardings and...

A Virgin Mobile advertisement considered insulting to nurses has been withdrawn after the Information and Broadcasting Ministry threatened to take action against two television channels for showing it. The Hindustan Times reported on what prompted the move: [Link] The National Commission for Women, which considered the ad obscene, said it treated the nurse like an object. “There were also sexual overtones which cannot be allowed on public television,” an NCW official said. The Commission had received representations from various women’s organizations against the...

Erotic pictures on covers of condom packs? Eeks, thought the Madras High Court and virtually banned such pictures on condom packets, terming them as "indecent, obscene" and an affront to Indian ethos. But thankfully, the Supreme Court is not retrograde. It has stayed the lower court's order. The Times of India has details on the case:[Link] ...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has banned the transmission and retransmission of the advertisements of Lux Cozy Underwear and Amul Macho Underwear because they are "indecent, vulgar and suggestive." It is a different thing altogether that the two ads had been cleared by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry. The venerable I&B ministry has directed all television channels to be more "careful" in future in selection of ad content, and to strictly adhere to the advertisement code prescribed...