As new ad regime dawns, cos make over 5K avowals

Marketers have started implementing the self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandate for new ads beginning June 18. Brand marketers acknowledge that while the SDC mandate is challenging for advertisers, it will not hinder the rollout of new ads.

Advertisers had generated more than 5,000 SDCs for new print and internet ads through the Press Council of India's (PCI) website, late evening data showed, despite what some described as initial complications that inevitably accompany a new process.

A ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) directive dated June 3 had said that all new print, TV, digital, and radio ads would need to have an SDC generated through the Broadcast Seva portal for TV and radio and the PCI for print and digital ads from June 18.

To be sure, the SDC is not required for existing ads.

The MIB directive came in the wake of the Supreme Court's May 7 order that all new ads needed to have SDC to ensure that the campaigns don't have misleading claims and adhere to prevailing regulations.

Jayen Mehta, MD, Amul, said that the dairy major is complying with the SDC mandate. "All our marketing activities will go as planned," he added. ITC chief digital marketing officer Shuvadip Banerjee said that the intent of the Supreme Court is absolutely perfect; however, the process has scope for improvement. "SDC compliance will be a bit cumbersome, particularly in areas like influencer marketing. We engage multiple influencers who create different content pieces for the same marketing outcome," he added.

Legal experts believe that a more practical approach to implement SDC would be to make compliance specific to each ad campaign rather than each individual ad. "This adjustment would acknowledge the dynamic nature of digital advertising and facilitate more manageable compliance processes for advertisers and advertising agencies," said TMT Law Practice founding partner Abhishek Malhotra.

While complying with the SDC mandate, the advertising and media industry also expects the Supreme Court to offer further clarity on the issue on the next date of hearing in the Indian Medical Association (IMA) vs Union of India matter on July 9.

Dabur India head of media Rajiv Dubey said complying with the SDC mandate will not be a challenging task based on the initial experience. "We are actively complying with the SDC mandate. We anticipate that the industry will adapt to these changes over time, making the transition smoother for all stakeholders involved," Dubey said. "Companies with multiple products and multiple copies spread across various platforms will need to be mindful of this fact and ensure compliance."

Concurring with Dubey, Parle Products senior category head Krishnarao Buddha added that there will be some initial hiccups, but the industry will get used to the SDC mandate for new ads. "We will not hold back any new ads due to the SDC mandate. We had released a new ad just before the MIB made it mandatory to implement the SDC. Therefore, we are continuing with our existing ads," he added.