The body also appealed to the concerned governments to take a serious view of such intimidating behaviour and take exemplary action where required.
On Wednesday, the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), has reiterated the need to strengthen and safeguard the fundamental right to express and receive commercial expression as guaranteed in Section 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution of India, the ET reported.
“The IAA has always stood for freedom of commercial speech and expression, self-regulation and gender-parity. Our many meaningful initiatives in these areas stand testimony to that commitment. The marcom industry has always used its creative depth to create messages that promote amity, peace and harmony in every area of life and work. . The events which led to the recent Tanishq advertisement being pulled back are very unfortunate. While we respect the opinion of every individual on subjective matters, these should not descend to illegal threats and anti-social behaviour,” the IAA said in its statement.
The body also appealed to the concerned governments to take a serious view of such intimidating behaviour and take exemplary action where required to ensure that businesses are provided with a safe environment to communicate their brand advertising messages and contribute to the economic resurgence of the country.
Earlier, the advertising watchdog ASCI had come in support of Tanishq and released a statement saying, “The Advertising Standards Council of India received a complaint against the Tanishq advertisement, stating it to be objectionable since it promoted communal intermingling. The advertisement in question was viewed at ASCI by an independent multi-stakeholder panel- The Consumer Complaints Council, which balances viewpoints from industry, civil society, lawyers, consumer activists as well as domain experts. This panel was unanimous that nothing in the advertisement was indecent or vulgar or repulsive, which is likely in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave and widespread offence. The complaint was not upheld, as the advertisement did not violate the ASCI codes of honesty, truthfulness and decency in advertising. Therefore ASCI has no objection to the airing of this advertisement, should the advertiser choose to do so.”
The Advertising Agencies Association of India also voiced its support to the brand.
“AAAI disapproves the targeting of the recent Tanishq ad featuring an inter-faith couple. The threats against Tanishq as well as its employees, which led to the withdrawal of the advertisement, are a matter of great regret and concern. The advertisement in question, in fact, had been viewed at the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) by an independent panel- The Consumer Complaints Council, which is representative of multiple stakeholders from industry, civil society, lawyers and consumer activists. The panel found nothing in the advertisement that was indecent or objectionable or repulsive that could lead to grave and widespread offence. There is a consensus among all allied bodies and The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter and The Advertising Club also support this.” the AAAI said.
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