Ministerial panel may soon rein-in misleading television advertisements

NEW DELHI: The next time you see an ad indulging in hyperbole over how you'll earn many attractive new girlfriends if you use a particular deo, a ministerial panel could be looking into your complaint and an independent federal body set up for the purpose of probing misleading advertisements could take suo moto action against the company and ad agency involved.

A meeting of officials from the food, consumer affairs and pds ministry, the advertising world, educational institutations etc headed by minister K V Thomas here today decided to recommend that a ministerial panel be set up to probe the high incidence of misleading advertisements making tall claims over the impact of the service or product sold by a company to consumers. The consumer affairs department could also take up such complaints suo moto with consumer courts.

The meeting also discussed the impact of such misleading ads on school going and college going children while taking stock of the several existing Acts to control such ads. It was felt that there is urgent need to tightten these legislations and bring them to book offenders while meting out stringent penalties.

It was decided to initiate a massive countrywide awareness campaign on misleading ads and the right of the consumer to contest these through official agencies.