Ad agencies and advertisers must self-disclose before releasing ads; Anupam Mittal criticizes
In its Order dated May 7, 2024, the Supreme Court directed all advertisers/advertising agencies to submit a ‘Self-Declaration Certificate’ prior to publishing or broadcasting any advertisement. In compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has implemented a new feature on the Press Council of India’s portal for print and digital/internet advertisements as well as the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for TV and radio advertisements. The certificate must be submitted via these portals and must be signed by an official advertiser/ad agency representative.
What does the self-declaration entail?
The portal is scheduled to go live on June 4th, 2024. All advertisers and advertising agencies must obtain the Self-Declaration Certificate for any new advertisements that will be released, broadcast, aired, or published on or after June 18, 2024. Two weeks have been set aside as a buffer period to give all parties involved enough time to become acquainted with the self-certification procedure. Self-certification is not currently required for ongoing advertisements.
The purpose of the self-declaration
The purpose of the self-declaration certificate is to attest that the advertisement (i) does not make any deceptive claims, and (ii) conforms to all applicable legal requirements, such as those outlined in the Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalistic Conduct and Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. For their records, the advertiser must certify that they have uploaded the Self-Declaration Certificate to the appropriate publisher, printer, broadcaster, or electronic media platform. No advertisement will be allowed to air on television, print media, or the internet without a valid Self-Declaration Certificate, per the Supreme Court’s directive.
Ensuring openness, consumer protection, and ethical advertising practices is one step closer to the SC directive. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has asked all publishers, broadcasters, and advertisers to carefully follow this instruction.
Anupam Mittal slams the self-declaration mandate
The founder and CEO of People Group and Shaadi.com, Anupam Mittal, has taken issue with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s requirement that all advertisers and advertising agencies obtain a Self-Declaration Certificate. He went on to X and expressed concern about how digital advertisers who run hundreds of ads per month will adhere to this rule. He added that by increasing costs and slowing down growth, this rule will hurt the sector’s ability to compete globally in the digital space.
This is completely unviable. https://t.co/0iC65sbNew@MIB_India How will digital advertisers who create 100s of creatives a month comply with a directive like that? This will hurt our digital competitiveness globally by increasing costs and slowing us down 🥲
— Anupam Mittal (@AnupamMittal) June 4, 2024
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Dr Bikramjit Chaudhuri to join as the new Chief of Measurement Science & Analytics, BARC India
17 May 2024; Mumbai, India – Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has announced the appointment of Dr Bikramjit Chaudhuri as its new Chief of Measurement Science & Analytics. He will succeed Dr Derrick Gray, a veteran Audience Measurement and Advanced Analytics executive, who has been a well-respected member of the BARC India family for six incredible years.
Dr Bikramjit Chaudhuri (Bikram) is a Ph.D. from IIT Bombay and holds a Master of Statistics degree from the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi. He comes in with a rich experience spanning over three decades in the areas of Statistics, Stochastic Modelling, Market Measurement, Consumer Segmentation, AI & ML, Demand Forecasting and Big Data Analytics. He has several research papers, publications, and patents in these aspects under his belt.
Bikram is currently associated with the Datamatics Group of Companies as the Global Head of Data Science & Advanced Analytics, since 2016. Prior to Datamatics, Bikram has held multiple leadership roles, and has led large teams of senior talent across levels at KPMG, Nielsen and ZS Associates.
Sharing his enthusiasm, Bikram said, “I am excited to join BARC India as the Chief of Measurement Science & Analytics. It will be an absolute honour and privilege to be a part of a multitalented and versatile team that runs the largest Audience Measurement system in the world, in one of the most complex multimedia markets. I am looking forward to leveraging my deep expertise and diverse experience to further evolve the current measurement system to meet the growing needs of the industry. Looking forward to an exhilarating journey and a fulfilling association with BARC India.”
Nakul Chopra, Chief Executive Officer, BARC India, said, “Derrick has been a wonderful partner, a mentor and a friend to numerous individuals and industry peers. We congratulate him as he embraces his next adventure and wish him nothing but the absolute best. In his stead, I’m happy to welcome Bikram to the BARC India family. He brings deep knowledge and rich expertise in Big Data, Research and Business Intelligence. I’m confident that with his strategic vision and passion for excellence, he will not only uphold the legacy Derrick leaves us with, but also help navigate our future in this fast-evolving environment.”