In a bid to take immediate action against advertisements that have the potential to offend public sensibilities,the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has now launched a new initiative called Suspension Pending Investigation. Under this initiative,the self-regulatory body proposes to force immediate withdrawal of ads that are considered gravely obscene,indecent,vulgar or against public interest,pending an investigation by its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). To be fair towards advertisers facing suspension,the CCC will be required to decide in a month whether a particular ad amounts to violation of ASCIs code of conduct. The new initiative is likely to be in vogue in a month. The ASCI move a departure from the times when the body would not take suo motu cognisance of offenders. We live in a different world today. Around 10 years ago,the life span of a campaign was around two years. Today,advertisers rely more on high-decibel campaigns that would last for about two months or less and the damage is done before you can act. So we need to have mechanisms that respond quickly to a situation, said Arvind Sharma,chairman ASCI.
