Swachh Abhiyan with a difference
With the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan sweeping through the city, both literally and metaphorically, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the body that regulates advertising, has decided to clean up ad acts. Yesterday, the ASCI took a leaf out of the Swachh book, or a straw out of its broom, so to speak. ASCI observed National Consumer day by launching a Swachh Ads Abhiyan. The campaign spanned different  platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, and ASCI said it helped them reach people to make them aware of certain advertisements with  misleading content. They also said it helped them tell consumers that they have a right to complain if they think a particular ad makes too-tall-to-believe claims or false claims. Narendra Ambwani, chairman, ASCI, says “It is important that the consumers don’t blindly believe in advertisements and understand unethical and misleading claims.” More power to Swachh Ads Abhiyan; may those brooms clean up the corridors of ads with inflated claims.

The right notes: Sunil Gavaskar takes the mike while Ajit  Wadekar looks on. Pic/Atul Kamble