Patanjali ads cast a long shadow over FMCG sector
₹31,428 crore in advertising, making it the largest category to advertise, according to a 2024 report by Dentsu and Exchange4Media. FMCG firms account for a third of all advertising spends in India. "It is directionally very good because the Supreme Court is looking at a larger ambit now.
There are so many companies that have made big claims and oftentimes, they tend to go unregulated. The bigger companies generally respect ASCI guidelines much more, but a lot of the homegrown companies have gotten by with fairly exaggerated claims, like skin whitening creams or health supplements, or things that can cure you of incurable diseases. All this will have to change now," said Lloyd Mathias, a business and marketing strategist.
Meanwhile, Ambi Parameswaran, former CEO of advertising firm DraftFCB Ulka said most FMCG companies adhere to the laws of the land and are signatories of ASCI code of conduct. "As long as FMCG and healthcare companies adhere to good practices and the advertising laws, they should not be worried about the SC. But if they violate the laws, ignore warnings repeatedly then they should be hauled up," said Parameswaran.
On 21 November, the court had warned Patanjali that a fine of ₹1 crore could be imposed if it did not stop circulating misleading claims and advertisements against modern medicine. Patanjali issued a media statement the following day, denying any misleading claims about its products. With inputs from Krishna Yadav and Shivangini
. Read more on livemint.com
