DEC-15: TALL TALK
TALL TALK
Bursting the bubble
A TVC of Idea Internet Network (IIN) conveys the message that you don’t need to attend college to get educated; instead learn what you want from IIN. Two youngsters use IIN and set up a café. Soon, they bag the ‘Best Hotel Award’. A visual at the award ceremony says: ‘Idea Internet Network – The Greatest Place to Learn’. Internet may be a great place to learn but projecting it as equivalent to a college or university is worrisome. We complained to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
ASCI upheld our complaint. It concluded that the TVC is misleading by implication and leads consumers to believe that through IIN a student can avail the same level of education as being provided in a professional college. The TVC further refers to IIN as ‘The greatest place to learn’ whereas IIN is only providing a means for finding information. Also, there is no data to support that the subjects referred to in the advertisement are available for formal hotel management education. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 and I.4 of the ASCI code. ASCI has asked the advertiser to appropriately modify or withdraw the ad or seek a review of the decision.
Learnt a lesson?
