Flipkart, Snapdeal, Uber and others rapped for misleading ad campaigns

The Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) upheld complaints against 82 campaigns in June for misleading ads, including those of e-commerce companies Flipkart and Snapdeal , taxi aggregator Uber , telecom major Vodafone , French cosmetics maker L'Oral, Fortis Healthcare and multinational liquor giant Pernod Ricard.

The Customer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI has upheld two complaints against Flipkart for claiming MRP of the product higher than the actual printed MRP and then offering it on a discounted price.

The website communication claims the MRP of the product as Rs 999 when actual printed MRP on the product is Rs 449 which is being offered as the discounted price. This distorts facts and is therefore misleading the consumers as to actual discount being offered, CCC said.

The advertisement by Uber states, 'You drink, we drive'. When read in conjunction with the depiction of logos of bars such as Zara, etc. as #UBERAPPROVED PARTNERS, was seen to promote alcohol drinking.

Snapdeal was pulled up for depicting a visual of a man riding a bike without a helmet, which shows an unsafe practice. Likewise, L'Oral India was pulled up for its ad for its New Garnier Action Facewash and GarnierPureActive Neem+ Tulsi High Foaming Facewash as French cosmetic major's claims were found 'ambiguous and unsubstantiated'.

ASCI also upheld a complaint against Fortis Healthcare as its ad for cosmetic surgeries does not refer to the criteria applicable for it. " ... by presenting this as a limited period discount' offer could encourage unsafe practices. Also, the advertisement is misleading by omission of a disclaimer indicating the risk factors involved," the ad regulator said.

Telecom operator Vodafone Essar's claim of 'uninterrupted voice calls on 3G Network' was not substantiated before it. Pernod Ricard was also pulled for directly promoting a brand Seagram, which is linked to alcohol business.

The advertisement of Seagram states, 'More than a few drinks can change the meaning of U-turn', read in conjunction with the logo of Seagram and statement 'Enjoy responsibly', directly promotes a brand linked to alcohol, the ad regulator added.

(In association with Mail Today)