Mar-17: TALL TALK
Oil to stay active?
The advertisement of an edible oil brand – Nature Fresh Acti-Lite Cooking Oil – made unbelievable claims. It claimed that “using the oil makes you stay active every momentâ€. Some other claims made were “low fat cookingâ€, “lite on food†and “low oil absorptionâ€. The advt also had supers which read, “The oil contains DMPS which leads to less oil absorption†But what is DMPS? How does it lead to less oil absorption? Also, is it about food absorbing less oil or the body? These were the qu
estions that we raised in our complaint to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
ASCI responded that the claims were not substantiated with any evidence or technical test reports and were misleading. It also said the disclaimers in the TVC were not clearly legible. The TVC contravened Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the ASCI Code, and ASCI Guidelines on Supers. Our complaint was upheld. However, ASCI did not find the claim “using the oil makes you stay active every moment†objectionable. However, we do find the claim bizarre. The advertiser was told to withdraw or modify the advt.
Bizarre claims
