July 18: TALL TALK
Voot App – Disregard for safety
Dangerous acts
The television commercial (TVC) of Voot mobile app shows a child walking on the edge of a swimming pool with this eyes glued to his phone watching a cartoon. The TVC also shows a youngster walking on the footpath while watching a show using Voot mobile app. As both these are potentially dangerous actions, we complained to the Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA) portal.
The advertiser argued that the content was a promo and not a TVC and hence could not be judged on the basis of commercial self-regulation. However, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) disagreed. It concluded that the two specific scenes of the TVC which CERC had objected to show unsafe/dangerous practices without justifiable reason, manifest a disregard for safety and encourage negligence. The actions shown are likely to encourage minors to emulate such acts in a manner which could cause harm or injury. Hence, the TVC contravened Chapters III.2 (b) and III.3 of the ASCI Code. The advertiser has assured ASCI that the said advertisement is off-air.
Misguiding minors
