Following its 38th Annual General Meeting of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Bennett Coleman and Company’s (BCCL) President and Chief Brand Officer- Partha Sinha has been appointed as the new Chairman of the ASCI Board of Governors for 2024-25.
Sinha will be replacing Marico CEO Saugata Gupta who had been appointed as the self regulatory body’s Chairman, last year.
Joining him as ASCI’s new Vice-Chairman is Sudhanshu Vats, Deputy Managing Director, Pidilite Industries, and as Honorary Treasurer is Subramanyeswar S, CEO, India and CSO, APAC at MullenLowe Global.
Before assuming the role of ASCI’s new Chairman, Sinha worked with some of India’s renowned organisations like Bennett Coleman and Company, Ogilvy, Publicis, BBH, McCann, and Citibank.
Expressing his compelling vision for ASCI, he 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, ASCI’s outgoing Chairman and Marico CEO- 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 the past one year, ASCI has made great progress in terms of its achievements and strategic initiatives, reinforcing its commitment to proactive work since the start of ASCI Academy which has now expanded to encompass over 75 alliances and, through its training and education, impacted 33,300 new and emerging professionals, firmly anchoring ethical principles deeply within the advertising community.
Moreover, the self regulatory body of advertising in India has also actively engaged in research and thought leadership through collaborative projects, including Khaitan and 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 DandI in India, as well as with Lexplosion for an in-depth understanding of privacy and data protection.
In the past year, it also actively co-hosted and participated in several stakeholder and government consultations to address and discuss issues like dark patterns, green claims, and surrogate advertising.
Furthermore, ASCI also 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.
Concludingly, ASCI’s 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 and remaining dedicated to advancing ethical, inclusive, and transparent advertising.
