Tag: Airtel

ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) lead in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 with 50,000 subscribers added during the first two months of calendar year 2016 (CY-2016). As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 (Feb-16) was 9.1 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15).

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-2015 until Nov-15. In December 2015 numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL have been losing subscribers and/or market share, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Feb-16, both BSNL and MTNL have lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers each, while You BB has added 10,000 subscribers. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 was 99.1 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.2 lakh subscribers for Feb-15.

Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 84.54 percent as on Feb-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.33 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 167.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.5 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 141.6 lakh. The top five players have added 5.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth. Please refer to Fig 2 below.

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-2016 current quarter) have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

April 26, 2016
ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) lead in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 with 50,000 subscribers added during the first two months of calendar year 2016 (CY-2016). As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 (Feb-16) was 9.1 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15).

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-2015 until Nov-15. In December 2015 numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL have been losing subscribers and/or market share, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Feb-16, both BSNL and MTNL have lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers each, while You BB has added 10,000 subscribers. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 was 99.1 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.2 lakh subscribers for Feb-15.

Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 84.54 percent as on Feb-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.33 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 167.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.5 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 141.6 lakh. The top five players have added 5.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth. Please refer to Fig 2 below.

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-2016 current quarter) have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

April 26, 2016
Reliance Jio to delay its commercial roll out till December

MUMBAI: The onslaught might take a little while before it revs itself for a decimating run in the Indian telecom ecosystem.’The world’s most expensive start-up entailing an initial investment of Rs.1.5 trillion – Reliance Jio’, as termed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who has a revolutionary vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet. Reliance Jio 4G services were launched for the employees and privileged personalities in December last year (2015). At that time speculations were rife that the company would roll out its commercial services in early April, though the company did not release any official statement indicating the launch date.

As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, Reliance’s 4G services are likely to launch in December 2016. A source close to the development informs, “They are planning the commercial roll out this December. There are many factors which are evolving and the launch will take time. Before the commercial roll-out there will be phases of soft launches in various regions to conduct a test run in each and every region.”

Reliance Jio’s immediate target will be the premium consumers of other networks. Research says that consumers with spends of Rs 300 per month and above are most vulnerable to poaching by the Jio onslaught. The biggest player in the Indian telecom ecosystem, Airtel has 89 per cent of its 250 million subscribers that use feature phones or smartphones only for calls and not data. Hence the ring fencing will happen for the 11 per cent of the premium consumers. “Airtel is planning to counter Jio with its own weapons,” says a veteran in the telecom industry. He further adds, “Jio will roll out combo plans where voice calls and SMS services will be offered for free or at cheap prices. It will also package 4G services with mobile devices. In the initial stages it will roll out many lucrative offers to poach consumers.”

When contacted, the corporate communications team of Reliance Jio refused to offer any comments. “We have not declared any date and hence there is no question of postponements or delays,” the team said.

One of the vendors that provides technical assistance to Reliance Jio asserts, “The internal declaration to roll out in December is primarily to ensure maximum reach. Availability and affordability are key factors which the company is not ready to compromise with. Moreover there will be an aggressive marketing plan to back the launch, so overall its a strategic move to wait till December.”

Driven by strong adoption of data consumption on handheld devices, the total mobile services market revenue in India is expected to touch US$ 37 billion in 2017, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to research firm IDC.

According to a Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) press release, as of 31 January 2016,India’s mobile subscriber base has crossed the one billion mark. A study by GSMA says that smartphones are expected to account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020 making India the fourth largest smartphone market.The broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017, says GSMA.

The opportunity is huge, and will benefit the ultimate user, given the poor quality of intermittent 4G data services that are being offered by the players in the market at present.

April 21, 2016
Reliance Jio to delay its commercial roll out till December

MUMBAI: The onslaught might take a little while before it revs itself for a decimating run in the Indian telecom ecosystem.’The world’s most expensive start-up entailing an initial investment of Rs.1.5 trillion – Reliance Jio’, as termed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who has a revolutionary vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet. Reliance Jio 4G services were launched for the employees and privileged personalities in December last year (2015). At that time speculations were rife that the company would roll out its commercial services in early April, though the company did not release any official statement indicating the launch date.

As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, Reliance’s 4G services are likely to launch in December 2016. A source close to the development informs, “They are planning the commercial roll out this December. There are many factors which are evolving and the launch will take time. Before the commercial roll-out there will be phases of soft launches in various regions to conduct a test run in each and every region.”

Reliance Jio’s immediate target will be the premium consumers of other networks. Research says that consumers with spends of Rs 300 per month and above are most vulnerable to poaching by the Jio onslaught. The biggest player in the Indian telecom ecosystem, Airtel has 89 per cent of its 250 million subscribers that use feature phones or smartphones only for calls and not data. Hence the ring fencing will happen for the 11 per cent of the premium consumers. “Airtel is planning to counter Jio with its own weapons,” says a veteran in the telecom industry. He further adds, “Jio will roll out combo plans where voice calls and SMS services will be offered for free or at cheap prices. It will also package 4G services with mobile devices. In the initial stages it will roll out many lucrative offers to poach consumers.”

When contacted, the corporate communications team of Reliance Jio refused to offer any comments. “We have not declared any date and hence there is no question of postponements or delays,” the team said.

One of the vendors that provides technical assistance to Reliance Jio asserts, “The internal declaration to roll out in December is primarily to ensure maximum reach. Availability and affordability are key factors which the company is not ready to compromise with. Moreover there will be an aggressive marketing plan to back the launch, so overall its a strategic move to wait till December.”

Driven by strong adoption of data consumption on handheld devices, the total mobile services market revenue in India is expected to touch US$ 37 billion in 2017, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to research firm IDC.

According to a Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) press release, as of 31 January 2016,India’s mobile subscriber base has crossed the one billion mark. A study by GSMA says that smartphones are expected to account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020 making India the fourth largest smartphone market.The broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017, says GSMA.

The opportunity is huge, and will benefit the ultimate user, given the poor quality of intermittent 4G data services that are being offered by the players in the market at present.

April 21, 2016
Vijay TV’s reality hunt Airtel Super Singer 5 finale winners at grand finale

BENGALURU: Season 5 of popular singing reality show Super Singer 5 on the Star Network’s Tamil GEC found its winner in Anand Aravindakshan. The title sponsor of the show was Bharti Airtel.

Aravindakshan won the votes and the hearts of viewers and also won a house worth Rs 70 lakh from Arun Excello. Singer Fareedha won the runner’s up title and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. Raju Ganapathy won the Judges Choice award after an electrifying performance to the beats of Aaluma Doluma and winning a standing ovation from the Judges, while the other two fianlists Siyad and Lakshmi won cash prizes from Vijay TV.

The grand finale night on 17 March in the DB Jain College grounds saw celebrated singers Chithra, Sujatha, Mano, Usha Uthup, Nithyashree, Srinivas and mentor Ananth Vaidyanathan, the Super Singer stars and thousands of music lovers who amassed at the venue to cheer up their favourite contestants. Anchors MaKaPa Anand, Bhavna and Priyanka pulled the show together with the singers. With two rounds to show all their might, the finalist singers sang well with Stephen Devassy to support them.

The evening witnessed a medley performance by the Super Singer stars and celebrated singers Usha Uthup, Vijayprakash, Mano, Sid Sriram, Benny Dayal, Gaana Bala performed their blockbuster hit songs to entertain the mass audience present there. The little pianist Lidian Nadhaswaram and Stephen Devassy performed a mesmerizing act together to show their excellent stints. Singers Haripriya, Satyaprakash , Irwin Victoria,flautist Rasika alos entertained the audience with their performances.

March 21, 2016
Vijay TV’s reality hunt Airtel Super Singer 5 finale winners at grand finale

BENGALURU: Season 5 of popular singing reality show Super Singer 5 on the Star Network’s Tamil GEC found its winner in Anand Aravindakshan. The title sponsor of the show was Bharti Airtel.

Aravindakshan won the votes and the hearts of viewers and also won a house worth Rs 70 lakh from Arun Excello. Singer Fareedha won the runner’s up title and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. Raju Ganapathy won the Judges Choice award after an electrifying performance to the beats of Aaluma Doluma and winning a standing ovation from the Judges, while the other two fianlists Siyad and Lakshmi won cash prizes from Vijay TV.

The grand finale night on 17 March in the DB Jain College grounds saw celebrated singers Chithra, Sujatha, Mano, Usha Uthup, Nithyashree, Srinivas and mentor Ananth Vaidyanathan, the Super Singer stars and thousands of music lovers who amassed at the venue to cheer up their favourite contestants. Anchors MaKaPa Anand, Bhavna and Priyanka pulled the show together with the singers. With two rounds to show all their might, the finalist singers sang well with Stephen Devassy to support them.

The evening witnessed a medley performance by the Super Singer stars and celebrated singers Usha Uthup, Vijayprakash, Mano, Sid Sriram, Benny Dayal, Gaana Bala performed their blockbuster hit songs to entertain the mass audience present there. The little pianist Lidian Nadhaswaram and Stephen Devassy performed a mesmerizing act together to show their excellent stints. Singers Haripriya, Satyaprakash , Irwin Victoria,flautist Rasika alos entertained the audience with their performances.

March 21, 2016
Airtel’s 4G girl is back in a new avatar at ICC World T-20 Cup

MUMBAI: The ubiquitous Airtel 4G girl is back in a new avatar starting today as she goes on a vacation with her friends. Airtel’s new campaign around its 4G services starring Sasha Chhetri goes on air today during the India-New Zealand match of the ICC World T-20 Cup.

Airtel has led the proliferation of 4G services in India and has the widest 4G footprint in the industry with services available in over 350 cities and towns across the country. The new campaign, which has been conceived by Taproot Advertising, is positioned on Airtel being the widest 4G network in the country with unmatched coverage.

The campaign will have a total of 5 films, each one different from the other in terms of the visual beauty of the location. It will have support legs in outdoor, print and digital mediums which will play a big role in delivering the message to the online audience, in particular the youth.

Since August 2015, when Airtel’s disruptive 4G ‘Challenge’ went on air, Sasha Chhetri has become the synonymous with 4G in India and has established herself as the confident go-getter who can deliver the brand’s message with panache.

On the new campaign, Bharti Airtel (India & SA) CBO Rajiv Mathrani says, “Airtel’s 4G campaigns have redefined communication around high speed mobile data services and the brand has powerfully surged ahead. With the expansion of Airtel’s 4G network across India, the campaign showcases the network in some of the most picturesque locations and is delivered in a casual yet persuasive tonality. We will see Sasha in a refreshingly new avatar as she continues to build a strong youth connect for Brand Airtel”

Taproot-Dentsu’s Agnello Dias says, “The Airtel 4G girl has built a powerful 4G association with Airtel. For this campaign, we have taken a different spin on her character while driving home a strong network message”

India is witnessing explosive growth in the mobile data category. As the 4G device ecosystem matures, and 4G enabled handsets are available at affordable price points, high speed data services are expected to see considerable uptake across India.

March 15, 2016
Airtel’s 4G girl is back in a new avatar at ICC World T-20 Cup

MUMBAI: The ubiquitous Airtel 4G girl is back in a new avatar starting today as she goes on a vacation with her friends. Airtel’s new campaign around its 4G services starring Sasha Chhetri goes on air today during the India-New Zealand match of the ICC World T-20 Cup.

Airtel has led the proliferation of 4G services in India and has the widest 4G footprint in the industry with services available in over 350 cities and towns across the country. The new campaign, which has been conceived by Taproot Advertising, is positioned on Airtel being the widest 4G network in the country with unmatched coverage.

The campaign will have a total of 5 films, each one different from the other in terms of the visual beauty of the location. It will have support legs in outdoor, print and digital mediums which will play a big role in delivering the message to the online audience, in particular the youth.

Since August 2015, when Airtel’s disruptive 4G ‘Challenge’ went on air, Sasha Chhetri has become the synonymous with 4G in India and has established herself as the confident go-getter who can deliver the brand’s message with panache.

On the new campaign, Bharti Airtel (India & SA) CBO Rajiv Mathrani says, “Airtel’s 4G campaigns have redefined communication around high speed mobile data services and the brand has powerfully surged ahead. With the expansion of Airtel’s 4G network across India, the campaign showcases the network in some of the most picturesque locations and is delivered in a casual yet persuasive tonality. We will see Sasha in a refreshingly new avatar as she continues to build a strong youth connect for Brand Airtel”

Taproot-Dentsu’s Agnello Dias says, “The Airtel 4G girl has built a powerful 4G association with Airtel. For this campaign, we have taken a different spin on her character while driving home a strong network message”

India is witnessing explosive growth in the mobile data category. As the 4G device ecosystem matures, and 4G enabled handsets are available at affordable price points, high speed data services are expected to see considerable uptake across India.

March 15, 2016
ASCI upholds complaints against BBC, ET Now, Snapdeal, Ola, Airtel and Uber

MUMBAI: In December 2015, The Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 42 out of 79 advertisements. Out of the advertisements against which complaints were upheld, eight belonged to the Healthcare category, nine to the Education category, followed by seven in the E-commerce category, three in Telecommunications and broadband category and fifteen advertisements from other categories.

Here below are a few of the ads against which complaints were upheld by the council:

In the case of television the following complaints were upheld:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC World News): The claim in the advertisement, ‘BARC says we are India’s No.1 English news brand’, violates the Guidelines of BARC under Measurement & Comparison and also contravenes the ASCI Code.

Times Broadcasting Ltd (ET Now): The advertisement claims, ‘No.1 Now an Undisputed leader’ and ‘No 1 Week after Week’. ET Now has used weekly data to claim leadership position. This is in violation of BARC India Ratings – Principles of Fair and Permissible Usage, which state that ‘The period of comparison must cover at least four consecutive weeks of data’. Thus, the advertisement promo also contravened Chapter I.3 of the ASCI Code.

In the ecommerce category, as per the council, the line ‘kahan se kharchega paise, baniye ka jo poot hai, aadhe khakhe diya dhaba jisme dry fruits hai’ used in an OLX India Pvt Ltd (OLX India) advertisement was deriding a certain caste of people (baniya). In another OLX India ad, the visual of ‘a police inspector riding a bike without a helmet’ as shown in its ‘Sell Scooter Buy bike’ advertisement promotes an unsafe practice. On the other hand Snapdeal’s claim of ‘free delivery’ advertised in its commercials was not deemed sustainable by ASCI.

Another ecommerce brand that failed to stay true to its advertisement claim was Uber India. The claim in the advertisement, ‘Switch to Uber @ Rs.9/-per km period’, was not substantiated and was also misleading by omission of any disclaimer that other additional charges are also being charged per minute/per trip.

Koovs advertisement which was also its first brand campaign displaying global fashion titled ‘Step Into Koovs’, also came under the radar. The scenes in the advertisement – ‘a girl jumping from a top floor of a building to a shirt which is hanging in the air, a girl jumping from a balcony and falling down a few floors down across the staircase, a boy jumping down from the balcony straight into the outfit’, without justifiable reasons show and encourage dangerous practices, manifest a disregard for safety and encourage negligence. Regardless of the disclaimer, the advertisement contravened the ASCI Codes due to the objected visuals being shown, shared ASCI.

In the telecommunications category, three complaints against Bharti Airtel were upheld.

The advertisement by Airtel showcasing a girl urging users to internet on their phone in the night because they will get 50 per cent cash back the next day, regardless of the disclaimer, the word ‘Cash Back’ in the claim ‘50 per cent cash back on night interne’” was upheld as incorrect and misleading.

Similarly, the Airtel advertisement that claimed ‘unlimited song downloads for free on Airtel’, is misleading by ambiguity as the data plan is required to be purchased and the ‘download activity’ for the unlimited music is also not free as there is an applicable data charge.

Another ad was the one from Airtel that claimed ‘50 per cent data offer’ during night time from 12am to 6am. The language of the super in the advertisement was not in Hindi and the hold duration of the disclaimer in the TVC was less than 4 seconds. Thus, the TVC contravened the ASCI Guidelines on Supers.

To see the full list of complaints upheld by ASCI in December 2015 click here.

March 4, 2016
ASCI upholds complaints against BBC, ET Now, Snapdeal, Ola, Airtel and Uber

MUMBAI: In December 2015, The Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 42 out of 79 advertisements. Out of the advertisements against which complaints were upheld, eight belonged to the Healthcare category, nine to the Education category, followed by seven in the E-commerce category, three in Telecommunications and broadband category and fifteen advertisements from other categories.

Here below are a few of the ads against which complaints were upheld by the council:

In the case of television the following complaints were upheld:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC World News): The claim in the advertisement, ‘BARC says we are India’s No.1 English news brand’, violates the Guidelines of BARC under Measurement & Comparison and also contravenes the ASCI Code.

Times Broadcasting Ltd (ET Now): The advertisement claims, ‘No.1 Now an Undisputed leader’ and ‘No 1 Week after Week’. ET Now has used weekly data to claim leadership position. This is in violation of BARC India Ratings – Principles of Fair and Permissible Usage, which state that ‘The period of comparison must cover at least four consecutive weeks of data’. Thus, the advertisement promo also contravened Chapter I.3 of the ASCI Code.

In the ecommerce category, as per the council, the line ‘kahan se kharchega paise, baniye ka jo poot hai, aadhe khakhe diya dhaba jisme dry fruits hai’ used in an OLX India Pvt Ltd (OLX India) advertisement was deriding a certain caste of people (baniya). In another OLX India ad, the visual of ‘a police inspector riding a bike without a helmet’ as shown in its ‘Sell Scooter Buy bike’ advertisement promotes an unsafe practice. On the other hand Snapdeal’s claim of ‘free delivery’ advertised in its commercials was not deemed sustainable by ASCI.

Another ecommerce brand that failed to stay true to its advertisement claim was Uber India. The claim in the advertisement, ‘Switch to Uber @ Rs.9/-per km period’, was not substantiated and was also misleading by omission of any disclaimer that other additional charges are also being charged per minute/per trip.

Koovs advertisement which was also its first brand campaign displaying global fashion titled ‘Step Into Koovs’, also came under the radar. The scenes in the advertisement – ‘a girl jumping from a top floor of a building to a shirt which is hanging in the air, a girl jumping from a balcony and falling down a few floors down across the staircase, a boy jumping down from the balcony straight into the outfit’, without justifiable reasons show and encourage dangerous practices, manifest a disregard for safety and encourage negligence. Regardless of the disclaimer, the advertisement contravened the ASCI Codes due to the objected visuals being shown, shared ASCI.

In the telecommunications category, three complaints against Bharti Airtel were upheld.

The advertisement by Airtel showcasing a girl urging users to internet on their phone in the night because they will get 50 per cent cash back the next day, regardless of the disclaimer, the word ‘Cash Back’ in the claim ‘50 per cent cash back on night interne’” was upheld as incorrect and misleading.

Similarly, the Airtel advertisement that claimed ‘unlimited song downloads for free on Airtel’, is misleading by ambiguity as the data plan is required to be purchased and the ‘download activity’ for the unlimited music is also not free as there is an applicable data charge.

Another ad was the one from Airtel that claimed ‘50 per cent data offer’ during night time from 12am to 6am. The language of the super in the advertisement was not in Hindi and the hold duration of the disclaimer in the TVC was less than 4 seconds. Thus, the TVC contravened the ASCI Guidelines on Supers.

To see the full list of complaints upheld by ASCI in December 2015 click here.

March 4, 2016