DECEPTIVE

ADVERTISEMENT, IMPACT
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Presented by
Akhilesh Kumar Gautam
DOPM
NIPER
Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long
enough to get money from it Stephen Leacock.

Deceptive advertising is the use of misleading, false, or unproven information to advertise

products to consumers. One form of false advertising is to claim that a product has a health
benefit or contains vitamins or minerals that it in fact does not.

Deceptive Advertising include:-

Exaggerating and overstating
expressing unrealistic attributes of the product
use of professional concepts for more effect
fake license
false warranties
use of cinematic tricks and misleading images
Discounts and gifts
 Types of deception
Photo retouching
Omitting information
Hidden fees and surcharges
Manipulation of measurement units and standards
Fillers and oversized packaging
Misleading health claims

Puffing
Manipulation of terms Acceptance by default
Incomplete comparison No risk
Guarantee without a remedy specified Bait-and-switch
Inconsistent comparison Chemical free
Misleading illustrations
False coloring
Angel dusting
The existing regulatory authorities:-
Constitution Of India
Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969
The Consumer Protection Act,1986
The Trademarks act,1999
The Drugs and Magic Remedies(Objectionable Advertisements)Act, 1954
Securities and Exchange Board of India Regulations, 2003
The IRDA (Insurance Advertisements) Regulations, 2000
Reserve Bank of India
Medical Council of India
Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI)
Central Drugs Standard Central Organization(CDSCO)
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Steps taken by the Department of Consumer Affairs to tackle the menace of
misleading advertisements:-

This Department has set up an Inter-Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Misleading

Advertisements vide on dated 21.02.2014 having members drawn from different Ministries
and authorities. Advertisement standards Council of India is also represented in the said
Committee.

This department is developing a web portal which would enable consumers to lodge
complaints against misleading advertisements.

Counter Campaign strategies are being worked out with FSSAI and other authorities like RBI
NPPA, etc.

Industry body has been asked to bring out a document titled Corporate Consumer
responsibility which would contain code of business ethics on unfair trade practises including
misleading advertisements.
 Case study
1. In Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited vs. Anchor Health & Beauty Care Private Ltd
2. M/s. Cox & Kings (I) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Mr. Joseph A. Fernandez & Others
3. Bhupesh Khurana vs Buddha Parishad , the Buddhist Mission Dental College
4. AstraZeneca case Nexium Heartburn
 Concluding Remarks

Advertisements are used for a campaigning against the ills in the society (eg. Cancer, AIDS,
smoking, malnutrition, degrading tourism industry etc.) the same are being used in the wrong
way for misleading the consumers

Consumers must create self awareness and exercise their rights against deceitful businessmen
indulged in practices of creating surrogate and misleading claims of their products They are
expected to bring such cases to the notice of the enforcement agencies, which, in turn, should
play the role of a watchdog of public interest

Role of the consumers in reducing the instances of misleading advertising is most important.

The consumers are expected not to remain gullible. Customers should take their time to
compare product features and prices before making a decision to purchase it.

Generally, there is more than one choice per product in the marketplace, and its our duty to
determine which one will work best for our respective purposes. They should not get tempted
by the discounts and other deceptive offers.