ASCI & TAM launch National Advertising Monitoring Service

Initiative is aimed at reducing misleading ads in print and television. NAMS will track and assess around 350 TV & 10,860 newspaper ads every week

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | April 18, 2012

With the objective of further strengthening the process of constraining/reducing misleading advertisements which harm the interests of consumers, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has announced a path-breaking initiative called NAMS (National Advertising Monitoring Service). This initiative has been launched by ASCI in partnership with TAM Media Research.

One of TAM's specialist divisions, AdEx India, that has been the central advertising monitoring and analysis hub for the advertising industry for the last four decades, will track and monitor around 350 TV and 10,860 newspaper ads per week. The ads will be those that have been categorised as specifically violating ASCI's ad code related to unsubstantiated, misleading or false claims.

Said I Venkat, Chairman, ASCI, “The National Advertising Monitoring Service or NAMS initiative is a paradigm shift for self-regulation in Indian advertising and perhaps a benchmark for other countries as something like this has never been attempted on this scale anywhere in the world. For such an important and industry central initiative, TAM's ADEX India was the obvious option to handle such a large responsibility that brought in requisite infrastructure, neutrality, integrity and quality. NAMS will strengthen the ad self-regulation redressal process manifold, as we will be able to proactively monitor a wider numbers of ads. This will be in the best interest of Indian consumers as it will significantly reduce the release of misleading advertising in India.”

Said LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, “Apart from media measurement, for decades now we have been playing a silent yet central industry role towards advertising monitoring and analytics as well. Our partnership with ASCI is yet another reiteration of the neutral role we play within the Indian advertising landscape.”

Under the partnership, AdEx India will identify ads which are in potential violation of Chapter 1 of ASCI Code. AdEx will monitor ads in the Auto, Banking, Financial Services & Insurance, FMCG (including F&B), Consumer Durables, Educational Institutions, Health Care Products & Services, Telecom and Real Estate sectors. The scope of work will cover the tracking of more than 30 newspapers (all editions) which contribute to over 80 per cent of national newspaper readership and all TV channels in all Indian languages.

Ads seen as being potentially violating Chapter 1 of ASCI Code will then be forwarded to ASCI on a weekly basis, post which ASCI would process them according to its normal complaint procedure involving its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) for adjudication.

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