ASCI names BCCL’s Partha Sinha as chairman for 2024-25

New Delhi: BCCL President & Chief Brand Officer Partha Sinha was elected chairman of the ASCI Board of Governors for 2024-25.

At its board meeting following the 38th Annual General Meeting, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) appointed Sudhanshu Vats, Deputy Managing Director, Pidilite Industries Limited, as Vice-Chairman.

S. Subramanyeswar, Group CEO & Chief Strategy Officer-APAC, Lintas India Private Limited, was named Treasurer at the advertising watchdog.

Sinha, who had stints with Ogilvy, Publicis, BBH, McCann and Citibank before joining Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, said, “Being the chairperson of ASCI is both an honour and a profound responsibility, especially as our industry is under greater scrutiny by our stakeholders. With rapid changes in the digital environment and the emergence of new challenges, ASCI is committed to not just keeping up but to staying ahead. Deploying technology and AI to monitor errant advertising as well as putting our might behind preventive measures will be our focus in the days to come. This will ensure that creativity and responsibility coexist, creating an ecosystem that values consumers and encourages innovation.”

Reflecting on his term, outgoing Chairman Saugata Gupta said, “Leading ASCI through a period that witnessed significant development and change has been a privilege. This year has been marked by historic milestones, including the formation of the ASCI Academy, which has become a cornerstone in promoting responsible and progressive advertising. Our commitment to training and capacity building, creating new direction via our thought leadership work, reflects a culture of responsibility from the ground up.”

In its annual report, ASCI said has made great progress in terms of its achievements and strategic initiatives during the year, reinforcing its commitment to the proactive work since the start of ASCI Academy.

“The Academy’s expansion is an important aspect of ASCI’s initiatives, and it is quickly becoming an active proponent of industry training and education. Since its inception, the Academy has expanded to encompass over 75 alliances and, through its training and education, successfully impacted 33,300 new and emerging professionals, firmly anchoring ethical principles deeply within the advertising community,” the industry body said.

ASCI said that it has also actively engaged in research and thought leadership through collaborative projects.

"Notable among these were partnerships with Khaitan & Co. on a white paper on the influence of generative AI on advertising, with the UN Women-led Unstereotype Alliance and lead research agency Kantar on D&I in India, as well as with Lexplosion for an in-depth understanding of privacy and data protection."

In the past year, ASCI said it actively co-hosted and participated in several stakeholder and government consultations to address and discuss issues like dark patterns, green claims, and surrogate advertising.

“ASCI updated and introduced new guidelines on an array of categories this year, including deceptive patterns, charitable cause marketing, and green claims ads, among others. These changes keep the ASCI Code current in the face of the changing industry dynamics and consumer expectations,” the advertising watchdog said.

Reiterating its commitments towards advancing ethical, inclusive, and transparent advertising, ASCI said its rigorous complaint redressal and monitoring operations this year included processing over 10,000 complaints and reviewing over 8,200 advertisements, affirming its role as a vigilant guardian of the advertising industry.