Rajiv Dube appointed new Chairman of ASCI

Rajiv Dube, director-group corporate services, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd., was unanimously elected chairman of the Board of ASCI at recently held board meeting. He has been a member of the Board of Governors for five years.

G. Krishnan, executive director and chief executive officer - TV Today Network Ltd., was elected vice-chairman, and Vikram Sakhuja, chief executive officer - South Asia - Group M Media India, was re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.

The other members of the new Board of Governors are:

Advertisers:  Narendra Ambwani (Johnson & Johnson), Shantanu Khosla (Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care), Gopal Vittal (Hindustan Unilever)
Media: Bhaskar Das (Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.), Vikram Kaushik (Tata Sky Ltd.),  I. Venkat (Eenadu)
Advertising Agencies: Subhash Kamath (BBH India), Arvind Sharma (Leo Burnett), Srinivasan Swamy (RK Swamy BBDO)  Allied Professions: Dilip Cherian (Perfect Relations), Dhananjay Keskar (IBS), Pranesh Misra (Brandscapes Consultancy P. Ltd.), Partha Rakshit (Partha Rakshit Associates)

During the year 2009-10, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) met 12 times and deliberated on complaints against 159 advertisements. Of these, 87 complaints were upheld, while 72 were not upheld.  In 71 cases, the ads have been withdrawn or modified appropriately as per the CCC’s decisions resulting in an 82% compliance rate.

Dhananjay Keskar, director - IBS and the outgoing chairman of ASCI, said, “During the year 2009-10 ASCI celebrated her Silver Jubilee. ASCI has grown in stature, membership strength and recognition. A sustained public relations campaign has ensured growing awareness of ASCI among the stakeholders & also among the general public. We upgraded our website and made it interactive for a visitor to the site. This feature and the introduction of a toll free number has simplified the process of lodging a complaint about an advertisement with ASCI."  He added, "I am happy about the support ASCI have been receiving from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Our efforts are appreciated by WFA i.e the Word Federation of advertisers who have agreed to fund ASCI over a period of next 3 years to increase awareness of ASCI and to carry out the required Market Research."

Newly appointed chairman Dube said, “It’s a humbling experience to be at the forefront of a 25 year old strong and growing initiative which has come to be looked upon by society and the Government alike as the guardian for responsible advertising communication.”