MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • Star's no-holds-barred show promises to be a tear-jerker, as Aamir Khan brings out facets of India’s gritty reality.

    High EQ at Aamir Khan talk show Satyameva Jayate

    By A Correspondent

     

    From Lagaan to Rang de Basanti to 3 Idiots and the hard-hitting Peepli Live which dealt unabashedly with home truths – for Aamir Khan, the next logical step seemed to be tackling real life itself, live.

     

    His no-holds-barred talk show Satyameva Jayate has already garnered praise from industrywallahs – singer Sukhwinder Singh is gaga about it, for one – and, from all accounts, promises to be an eye-opener.

     

    Shooting for the episodes has begun and is said to be proceeding as per schedule.

     

    Besides the guests on the show, the live TV audiences have also been moved by the issues tackled on the show. While the mood is not always sombre to begin with, as the issues get revealed and the guests share their touching stories, it is often Mr Khan himself who is seen to have tears in his eyes. The actor with a heart does succeed in getting the guests to talk about the most difficult times in their lives, but not without also extracting mugfuls of tears from practically everyone, according to eyewitnesses.

     

    “I will put it this way, that the ‘EQ’ or emotional quotient is very high on this show,” said a participant who attended one of the studio shoots. “Aamir Khan is really dedicated and really cares about the people and their problems that are being discussed. He’s wonderful. We came because we are Aamir fans, but then we just forgot that he is a star actor,” she added.

     

    After heavy doses of manufactured reality programmes, the Star offering seems to be a breath of genuine fresh air, as the show sets out to reveal the India that lives in far-flung villages and only sometimes breaks out in the form of a headline.

     

  • Young Turks showcases 24 young entrepreneurs who have made a mark in the society with their innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit

    Divya Bhaskar celebrates spirit of Gujarat enterprise with ‘Young Turks’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Divya Bhaskar celebrated the efforts of the young entrepreneurs of Gujarat with the release of a coffee table book – Young Turks – acknowledging the efforts of emerging entrepreneurs in Gujarat. The book aims to motivate audience with the success stories of these entrepreneurs and their never say die attitude, which has helped them to overcome the hurdles and achieve their goals. ‘Young Turks’ is a salute to the young achievers.

     

    Young Turks showcases 24 young entrepreneurs who have made a mark in the society with their innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit across fields like Animation, Real estate, Training, Information Technology and so on. The book encapsulates the journey of an entrepreneur. It salutes their indomitable spirit and vision for sustained growth which has contributed to progress of Gujarat’s redefining industry.

     

    Commenting on the release Mr Saras Sethi, State CEO said: “It is aimed to motivate the emerging entrepreneurs with examples of success. Most of these emerging entrepreneurs defy the age factor and have made their mark at very young age with hard work and innovative thinking.”

     

  • Logo unveils across Reliance Broadcast Network’s television bouquet on May 10

    BIG RTL Thrill gears for launch and unveils logo

    By A Correspondent

     

    The recently named BIG RTL Thrill from the Reliance Broadcast Network and RTL Group joint venture will unveil their logo through a multi-media campaign on May 10. The logo will be revealed through an extensive campaign across its television channel bouquet BIG CBS Prime, Spark, Love, Spark Punjabi, BIG Magic and UTV Bloomberg, which will run through the summer as the channel gears for launch.

     

    The logo of the new channel, which is positioned as the country’s first action entertainment channel, was designed by Singapore-based BDA and will be seen extended across various on-air elements like promo-packaging, on-air graphics and the channel id.

     

    Targeted at male audiences across metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in the Hindi-speaking markets, the look and the feel of the logo is strong, solid and in-your-face. The red colour signifies energy, aggression and high action. The big, bold and sharp fonts and the rectangular block perfectly reflects the personality and core values of the channels – daring, action-packed, electrifying, sporty, challenging and adventurous. The channel, which is a result of detailed audience mapping and insight mining among Indian audiences, has a logo that is simple, yet impactful and promises to connect well with the mass male audiences in India.

     

    The present joint venture marks RTL Group’s entry into the burgeoning Asian television market and is Reliance Broadcast Network’s second international joint venture, following on the heels of its successful joint venture with CBS Studios International.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited is a multi-media entertainment conglomerate with play across radio, television, intellectual properties and out of home. It houses the following verticals: 92.7 BIG FM -India’s largest FM Network; BIG CBS – A joint venture with CBS Studios International; BIG MAGIC – which marked the Company’s entry into the regional entertainment space. The company also distributesBloomberg UTV,India’s premier business news channel. In the space of live entertainment the company has BIG Live a division which develops, executes and markets Intellectual Properties, and synergizing excellently with this division is BIG Productions a division which functions as a television content production house catering to the diverse creative needs of the Indian television landscape.

     

     

  • Co-authored by UTV Bindass, along with the renowned international author and speaker, Jeroen Boschma, the book is being launched tonight in India keeping in mind the specifics of the Indian market

    Bindass to host ‘Generation Einstein’ tonight

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    All roads lead to the Mahalaxmi racecourse today (Monday, May 14) as Bindass will launch the Indian edition of the very successful book ‘Generation Einstein’.  Co-authored by UTV Bindass along with the well-known international author and speaker Jeroen Boschma, the book is being launched in India keeping in mind the specifics of the Indian market and traces the emergence of a global generation in India, their likes, dislikes, lifestyle and what sets them apart from the others.

    The Indian edition of Generation Einstein – authored by Samyak Chakraborty and Arjun Vednayagam – also goes on to explain the communication strategies that marketers could adopt in reaching out to the youth with the help of India-specific case-studies like Tata Docomo, Bindass, Virgin Mobile and many more.

    The book describes a new generation, ‘Generation Einstein’ that was born during the last decade of the previous century. It also stresses upon the significance of the youth as an important part of the market and how fast the new generation understands the world better than anyone else. The book attempts to decode this generation and help marketers reach out to them.

     

    Commenting on the association of Bindass on the launch of book, Kunal Mukherjee, Director-Marketing, UTV & Bindass Networks, said: “Bindass being a 360-degree youth brand continuously looks out for avenues to work with people who engage or reach out to the youth in various ways. Generation Einstein 3.0 provides an insightful look into the working of the youth’s minds, how they make choices, evaluate mediums and more importantly how to establish a connect with them as equals. One of the hardest things to do for any brand today is to get their communication across to the youth and Generation Einstein helps each of us do just that as we decode the youth step by step.”

    The book will also throw light on the new age communication strategies like “Increation’ which is a more effective method of communicating with a youth segment. The new methodology of research – Increation involves putting many ideas to test, then trying to use the reactions to narrow down the ideas. The researcher will look for overlaps on what connects to solutions…leading to that one big insight that results into that one big idea.

    Young people are ultimately suited to working with increation projects. They are extremely creative because of the world in which they live and their present stage of life.

    Entry to the event, which is being organised in association with MxMIndia, is by invitation only. It will be followed by cocktails and dinner.

     

  • A simple story and real emotions propelled Balika Vadhu (and Colors) to the top. The show completes a thousand episodes of airing tonight.

    1000 episodes, and counting!

     

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Avika Gaur

    In 2008, when general entertainment channel Colors, was launched by Viacom18 – a joint venture between Viacom Inc and the Network18 Group, there was much promise of  a new spectrum of emotions and entertainment. While there were high profile reality shows on offer, the one serial that caught everyone’s attention was Balika Vadhu, a story of Anandi, married off in a rich family as a child. The show will complete 1,000 episodes today (May 14), a feat not many shows have accomplished in the Indian television industry.

     

     

     

    Ashwini Yardi

    Balika Vadhu show caught everyone’s attention because of its simple story and real emotions. Anandi captured the hearts of millions, making it the No 1 show at that time slot. Talking about Balika Vadhu, former programming head of the channel, Ashwini Yardi recollects: “It is the only show I said yes to in 30 seconds. Balika Vadhu is a cult show that portrays the journey of a child bride into womanhood. Even when the channel was launched, the show wasn’t promoted or marketed as much as the other shows. So, it has achieved everything on its own.”

     

    Child marriage isn’t something new, many young girls and boys are forced into it even today and the government and activists have tried to curb this social evil. Through the show, the writer and the channel wanted to convey the side-effects a child marriage can have on one’s life.

     

    Purnendu Shekhar

    “The realism in the characters and storyline is what made the show connect with its audience. We have never compromised of the plot and concept of the story to gain TRPs. Balika Vadhu is the first show which raised a social issue as its main plot on a primetime. And we wanted to educate people as well as entertain them,” says Purnendu Shekhar, the writer of the show.

     

    Agreeing with Mr Shekhar, Prashant Bhatt, fiction head, Colors says: “The story is the hero. The concept of the show decides how the look and treatment of the show will progress. So much so that the cast, the sites, the look, the makeup, even the language is completely tied to the concept. Balika Vadhu brought about authenticity, consistency and meaningfulness and that has worked. Today, Anandi, Sumitra, Dadisa, Bhairon and many others are household names solely because of the way the characters have been portrayed; the actors literally live their roles. The dialogues and its delivery has raised the bar completely. In totality, the show is an honest effort from our end to highlight issues to a mass audience and its acceptance is a great high for us.”

     

    Monaz K Todywalla

    Of the 197 weeks of being on-air, it’s been the No 1 show in the slot for 172 weeks. According to Monaz K Todywalla, general manager, Madison Media, the reason why the show has worked well for so long is: “The simple storyline of Balika Vadhu, in its early days was a refreshing change from the high drama soaps that existed. The show started off a new trend of addressing social problems that exist within the fabric of the country; people empathize with the story of a young girl who was married at a young age – the twists in her life deal with problems that women in India face. More importantly, because Anandi doesn’t play a victim, but fights odds to emerge a winner.”

     

    Deepak Netram, vice president, Lodestar UM, reasons why Balika Vadhu has been able to cut across masses. “The show was a milestone in the GEC space. It redefined a lot of trends and was a winner for the channel for a long time in many aspects. The show targeted a certain TG and that’s the audience many advertisers want too,” he said.

     

    OTHERS IN THE 1000+ EPISODES CLUB

    Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi – April 2005
    Kahaani  Ghar Ghar Ki – Aug 2005
    Kasauti Zindagi Ki – May 2006
    Kumkum – April 2007
    Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki – June 2009

    At 1,000 not out, Mr Shekhar shared that it wasn’t easy to keep freshness alive in a daily soap: “When I had written the show for Doordarshan in 1992, the show was supposed to have only 25 episodes. I feel till the time the viewers continue watching and enjoying the show, we’ll continue to write.” For the DD version, the young couple were supposed to grow-up in the fourth episode itself, whereas on Colors the show took a time-leap in the 517th episode.

     

     

    Jaahnavi P Paal

    But not everyone believes that the show must be allowed to continue till the ratings become negligible. TV analyst and columnist, Jaahnavi P Paal rues that Indian soap operas tend to lose the plot and drag. I guess the same has happened with Balika Vadhu too. Today, many avid viewers of the show have lost interest in it. Maybe that’s why it has lost its  number 1 spot. I’m a firm believer that a show must end at a proper time instead of being dragged.

     

    However, there’s no denying the fact that as a serial Balika Vadhu changed the trend with its interesting and unusual concept. Social awareness through primetime benefitted the show as well as the channel.

     

     

  • This biggest, and most credible, award function felicitates eminent personalities who have not only achieved excellence in their respective fields but have also helped to bring Bengal in the national as well as international limelight

    Sera Bangali honours 13 progressive Bengalis who said no to negativity

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    West Bengal has been a playing field for visionaries who emerged as thought leaders and have shown the way to rest of the countrymen, by just saying no to the negativity. STAR Ananda, Bengal’s leading news channel is celebrating this excellence through Sera Bangali.

     

    Sera Bangali is a pioneering effort by STAR Ananda since 2006 for Bengal is and people from West Bengal who have made their state proud through their achievement. This biggest, and most credible, award function felicitates eminent personalities who have not only achieved excellence in their respective fields but have also helped to bring Bengal in the national as well as international limelight.

     

    The awards are presented in a plethora of categories like art, film, music, education, business, science, sports and lifetime achievement. After runaway success of past 6 years, Bengal has now welcomed 2012 Sera Bangalis. The celebration was held on May 11 at Kolkata. It was a star studded event which started with a grand felicitation ceremony followed by a scintillating entertainment show.

     

    The winners of Sera Bangali 2012 in various categories:

     

    Category Awardee
    Film (Actor) Saswata Chatterjee
    Film (Direction) Srijit Mukherji
    Music Anupam Roy
    Sports Manoj Tiwari
    Sports Shakib Al Hasan
    Public Life Ruchira Gupta
    Education Sushanta Dattagupta
    Science Sumantra Chatterji
    Business Vinayak Chatterjee
    Art Lalu Prosad Shaw
    Sera Abishkar Aneek Dutta
    Lifetime Achievement Sunil Gangopadhyay
    Serar Sera Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee

     

     

    The nominees were selected following an in-depth research made by the MCCS Editorial team.

     

    Past Sera Bangal is have included luminaries like Pranab Mukherjee- Minister of Finance, Dr Muhammad Yunus- Economist and winner of Nobel Peace Prize, Sourav Ganguly, Mithun Chakraborty, Rahul Bose and Anurag Basu.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS said: “We have dedicated ourselves to the recognition and felicitation of those personalities who have made Bengal proud and continue to do so. Sera Bangali is the truest effort in this direction to recognize those successful Bengal is, who not only have excelled in their respective fields, but have also helped in putting Bengal is in the global arena.”

     

    The entertainment that follows the award function saw performances by distinguished artists like Kunal Ganjawala and Debojyoti Mishra.

     

    STAR Ananda plays the role of the true leader by connecting these luminaries with the people. This is in accordance with the channel’s aim of reflecting and catalyzing the growth and resurgence of Bengal and also celebrating excellence.

     

     

  • The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued regulations of the quality of service and consumer complaint redressal mechanism for digital addressable cable television

    Address consumer complaints within 8 hrs: TRAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Regulations on the Quality of Service and Consumer Complaint Redressal Mechanism for the Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) on May 14.

     

    Under the new order, every multi-system operator (MSO) or his linked local cable operator (LCO) will have to establish a complaint centre in his service area, for redressal of complaints and for addressing service requests of his consumers before providing the digital addressable cable TV services.

     

    Every complaint centre will be accessible to the consumers from 8am in the morning to midnight on all days of the week. The complaint centre will have facilities for the local language of the area in addition to Hindi and English. Every MSO or his linked LCO will deploy sufficient number of employees at his complaint centre to meet the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, as may be specified by the Authority from time to time.

     

    The MSO or linked LCO will have to ensure that the complaints centre is accessible and has a toll-free number which will be widely publicized. In the new regulations, TRAI has also issued details of how an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) should function, and how consumers should be made aware of the existence of the centre.

     

    Every MSO or linked LCO will have to establish a web-based complaint monitoring system to enable the consumers to monitor the status of their complaints. Every MSO or his linked LCO will also have to designate a one or more nodal officers in every state in which it is providing its services. In case the consumer is not satisfied with the redressal of his complaints through Complaints Centre, he can approach the nodal officer of the operator.

     

    MSOs or their linked LCOs have to publish a consumer’s charter for DAS providing all necessary details with respect to the services being provided by them.

     

    Under the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations, a standard application form will be devised giving all details to be used for providing services such as connection, disconnection, shifting and return of set top box (STB).

     

    The consumer will have to be given a prior notice of a minimum of 15 days for disconnection of services. Similarly, the consumer will have to give a prior notice of minimum 15 days for making a request for disconnection.

     

    No charges other than rentals for STB will be charged in case the connection is suspended on the request of the consumer for a period of minimum one month to maximum three months.

     

    Operators will publish a manual of practice and provide it to the consumer at the time of enrolment. The manual of practice, apart from Hindi and English, should be in the language of the state where the cable services are provided.

     

    Every MSO will offer cable TV services on both pre-paid and post-paid payment options to the subscriber and will be responsible for generation of bills for the subscribers. It will be open to the subscriber to choose either the pre-paid or post-paid option.

     

    Operators will have to offer three schemes for STBs to the consumers, and these are outright purchase, hire purchase and rental. Operators will have to provide a minimum warranty of one year for STBs acquired by the consumer under outright purchase scheme.

     

    The security deposit of the STBs has to be refunded within seven days of surrender of the STB by the consumer.

     

    All MSOs and cable TV operators will conduct public awareness campaign about the salient provisions of these regulations.

     

    Meanwhile, TRAI has issued amendments to the Interconnection Regulations issued on April 30 under which the MSOs have been barred from charging any placement fee from broadcasters.

     

    Giving in to a collective demand of broadcasters, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has barred Multi System Operators from charging a placement fee from channels in lieu of placing them in select slots.

     

    TRAI has issued amendments to the Interconnection Regulations which were earlier issued on April 30. The interconnection regulations are applicable to all digital addressable cable TV systems (DAS).

     

    As per the amendments, TRAI states, “Multi System Operators are not to demand any placement fee from broadcaster.” In a move to make the system more transparent, TRAI has specified, “Tthe Reference Interconnect Offer of a multi-system operator submitted to the Authority to contain the basis on which the carriage fee payable by the broadcaster has been determined.”

     

    TRAI also mandates every MSO to display in his Electronic Programme Guide, all the channels offered by him, in the same genre in which a particular channel has been indicated by the broadcaster and one channel shall appear in only one genre.

     

    Under the new regulations, broadcasters will also have to declare the genre of their channels which may be either News and Current Affairs or Infotainment or Sports or Kids or Music or Lifestyle or Movies or religious/Devotional pr General Entertainment (Hindi) or General Entertainment (English) or General Entertainment (regional language).

     

  • The TRAI has issued a regulation that restricts ad duration to 12 minutes per clock hour with no allowance for carry over. Also, ads can henceforth be only full-screen.

    TRAI curtails ads to 12 mins per clock-hour, no part-screen ads allowed

    By A Correspondent

     

    First the good news: the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is not going ahead with the suggestion of limiting ad duration to just six minutes per clock-hour for pay channels.

     

    And then the bad news (for the industry at least): Despite stiff opposition from broadcasters and industry associations, the TRAI has issued its Standard of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) Regulations 2012.

     

    These are the prominent amongst the directives:

    1. Duration of ads in TV channels to be limited to 12 minutes per clock hour. Any shortfall in ad duration cannot be carried over.

     

    2. Ads during live broadcast of a sporting event to be only during breaks in the sporting action

     

    3. The minimum gap between two consecutive ad breaks to be not less than 15 minutes. In case of movies, this should be a minimum of 30 minutes. However, this doesn’t apply to live sports

     

    4. Ads can be only full-screen. Part-screen and drop-down ads aren’t permitted

     

    5. Audio level of ads cannot be higher than that of the rest of the programmes being broadcast

     

    Note the regulation does not specify special status for pay and free-to-air channels or for news channels.

     

  • A new notification issued by the regulator on Monday limited the amount of advertising on TV channels and disallowed any shortfall in a particular hour to be carried over

    Broadcasters slam TRAI notification to limit ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    Broadcasters and advertisers have slammed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) move to limit the duration of television advertisements to 12 minutes in an hour, and accused the regulator of exceeding its brief.

     

    A new notification issued by the regulator on Monday limited the amount of advertising on TV channels and disallowed any shortfall in a particular hour to be carried over. According to industry estimates, this could impact advertising revenues of broadcasters by 15-40 per cent.

     

    “Trai has no jurisdiction in the subject. Advertising is governed by the Cable and Satellite Act and the appropriate authority is the ministry of information and broadcasting,” said Uday Shankar, president of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, and the chief executive officer of Star India. “The regulator is overstepping its brief,” he added.

     

    According to Mr Shankar, the low revenues from subscriptions give broadcasters no option but to rely on advertising inventory and revenues to survive.

     

    An Indian Broadcasting Foundation official said an earlier government guideline stipulated that Trai could issue an advisory with regard to advertising but not a notification.

     

    Sunil Lulla, managing director and chief executive officer of Times Television Network, which runs Times Now, ET Now and Movies Now channels, too criticised Trai’s decision. “This move is completely ridiculous. Self regulation is the best regulation,” he said.

     

    “This move will have an immediate impact because right now there is no other big source of revenue for broadcasters,” said Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media, the company which runs Sony Entertainment Television. The IBF will appeal against this new regulation, he added.

     

    Barun Das, chief executive officer of Zee News, questioned the timing of the regulation at a time when the entire broadcasting industry was going digital. “We have a limit mentioned in the Cable Act. If at all there is a need for regulating duration of advertising, it possibly could have waited some more time for the digitisation process to settle down.” he said.

     

    Mr Das said his channel had voluntarily cut its advertising inventory by 30per cent earlier this year. “We realise that too much advertising is a deterrent to viewership. We were not driven by regulations, rather we were driven by market forces,” he said.

     

    Mr Das said the viewers had choices not only of channels but also of media platforms. “I am not sure if advertising volume needs to be regulated. I would tend to believe that too much advertising would anyway drive away viewers,” he added.

     

    Sale of television rights have become an important source of income for sports bodies such as BCCI but the restriction on advertising will adversely impact the ability of broadcasters to recoup their investments, forcing them to scale down their bids.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Pradyuman Maheshwari believes the TRAI shouldn’t be policing broadcasters and says it's time the TV-wallahs get a good, powerful lobbyist

    Mediaah! Broadcasters suffer with ad restrictions while print & web publishers have fun

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    So the TRAI has finally chosen to subject the television channels to its regulation over ad duration in the guise of quality of service. Assorted politicians and consumer groups who’ve been complaining about the ads on telly should be happy, but I would see the development as unfortunate.

     

    Yes, some of the practices adopted by our broadcasters are reprehensible. They deserve to be damned.  But should the government directly or via a regulator like TRAI be getting into the act? I don’t think it should.

     

    Market forces will force channels to ensure viewer experience isn’t impacted beyond a point. In fact in the chase for ratings, the entertainment-wallahs have already done that.

     

    My heart goes out to the news channels who are going to be impacted the maximum. Ads in the form of tickers etc amount to revenues of around Rs 100 crore across channels, I was told.

     

    The battle is going to move to the Courts/TDSAT, I am told. I hope the learned souls there see reason.

     

    What about other media?

    If broadcasters get carried away with commercials and if the government and/or TRAI sincerely believe that they are taking consumers for a ride, then what about newspapers, radio and the internet?

     

    Full page ads on Page 1, half-jackets, ads flowing through editorial… etc etc etc. All of this in print.  Radio has ads camouflaged as RJ mentions. On the web: innumerable innovations, site captures, interstitials, awful and annoying innovations done by some of the trade sites.  And then innumerable advertising mailers. I must add here MxMIndia too carries site captures and while we don’t send more 5-6 mailers or at most 10 a day, guess we’re getting there.

     

    Now, other than our readers cursing the publications in question, there’s no one stopping the print and web players from carrying intrusive adverising. Also, the ad-edit ratio can well exceed 70-30 on big occasions like Diwali or Akshya Tritiya.

     

    Wanted a top quality lobbyist for TV!

    Perhaps the television industry must hire a top draw bureaucrat to lobby its case to the powers that be. The fact is that the Indian government policies are skewed against the television media. Even on issues like service tax, while advertisers don’t have to pay any levy for an ad in print, they’ve got to cough up the entire 12.36% for TV, the web and I guess radio too.

     

    Even though television has some rather powerful players, it’s evident that the print folks command more respect. Or at least the government tries to not meddle in their affairs.

     

    It’s not that established print players don’t have a broadcast interest… we have BCCL, India Today, ABP, Malayala Manorma, Lokmat, Sakal, Mathrubhoomi and Eenadu amongst others, but it’s just that they are more revered for print than television.

     

    Now that INS president Ashish Bagga also heads up the TV Today Network as CEO of the India Today group and the MCCS channels are better integrated in the ABP group, perhaps the old warhorses must exert pressure.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM 23050B5D, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.

     

    Disclaimer: Although he is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of this site, Pradyuman Maheshwari’s views in Mediaah! are not necessarily those of the rest of the team and MxMIndia.com.

     

  • Complaints against TV ads reduce as complaints against print ads continue

    ASCI upholds complaints against 12 ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    During March and April 2012, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI, upheld complaints against 12 advertisements, most of them part of the healthcare and/or personal hygiene sector. During the same time, the CCC did not uphold complaints made against 12 advertisements.

     

    Euro Fashion Inners received complaints against its print advertisement published across newspapers across the country.  As per the complaint, the advertisement shows “naked men holding cockerels against their pelvic region while asking ‘what’s your size’?” This advertisement was seen as obscene and seriously offensive to public decency. The CCC concluded that the advertisement was indecent, vulgar and repulsive, likely to cause grave or wide spread offence. The complaint against the advertisement was Upheld and the advertiser was asked to stop the campaign.

     

    Sareen Hair Clinic’s advertisement stated that “Hair re-growth – also treatment for hair falling, baldness, alopecia, and thinning of hair. Non surgical hair replacement – painless, totally natural, completely undetectable, look younger in just 120 days, surgical hair replacement – get your hair back naturally in just 1 day procedure.” The advertiser did not provide any proof or supporting clinical information, neither were any details provided on reports of tests/trails conducted from an independent recognized testing institution. In the absence of supporting clinical information from the advertiser, the CCC concluded that the advertisement is likely to mislead consumers. Hence, the complaint against this advertisement was Upheld.

     

    Fit and Fine Slimming Centre and Beauty Clinic was under the scanner for their advertisement which claimed that “Reduce upto 5 kg, Lose up to 15 inches with Ultra Lypolysis Program, Advanced treatment free”. The advertiser failed to provide  data or supporting technical information with details of reports of tests/ trails conducted by an independent recognized testing institution, in substantiation of these claims. In the absence of supporting clinical information, the CCC concluded that all claims mentioned in the advertisement were not substantiated and the complaint was Upheld.

     

    Fair Pharma was pulled up for their advertisement that states “Cancer – We open for you the door back to life”. The treatment given by Fair Pharma for curing Cancer is not provided and the claim implies assuring consumers of curing cancer, which is a false claim. The claim needs to be substantiated with data based on independent scientific research. Since the advertiser failed to respond to ASCI’s letter and in the absence of supporting clinical information, it was concluded that the advertisement could be misleading and could cause wide spread grievance. Hence the complaint was Upheld.

     

    The advertisement of Smart Careers (BBS/BBA), claimed “guaranteed College Admission”. This claim was not backed or substantiated with data or evidence. Also, there was no validation provided by an independent agency to confirm the claim. In the absence of any proof, it was concluded that the advertisement contravened Clause 3 of the aSCI Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions and Programs and hence this complaint was Upheld.

     

    Similarly, the advertisement of Career Launcher (IIM Calls) was pulled up for their claim “24 YLP admits in ISB.” In the absence of any verification of claims from an independent body, the CCC concluded that the advertisement contravened chapter 1.1 of the code and the complaint was Upheld.

     

    Stoss Welle Healthcare was under the radar for their advertisement which states “Many suffer from erection related problems/ pre-mature ejaculation/ leakage of urine/ difficulty in urination. Are you one of them? Obtain desired results with the help of latest proven state-of-the-art non surgical Swiss Technology.” Advertiser must provide proof, supporting clinical information, with details of report of tests and trials conducted from independent recognized testing institutions. In the absence of supporting clinical information, the CCC concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint, were not substantiated. Hence, this complaint was Upheld.

     

    Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhavan P Ltd’s advertisement on Rheumartho Gold Capsules stated that “Enriched with most effective swarna bhasma and salal guggul; Offer lasting relief from backache, joint pain, muscular pain etc; Helps to treat the root cause of pain and Helps to regain the flexibility of joints”. Advertiser should provide proof, supporting clinical information, with details of test/trials reports conducted from an independent recognized testing body in order to substantiate these claims. However, in the absence of adequate clinical information, the CCC concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated and therefore this complaint was Upheld.

     

    In April, media house Dainik Jagran’s 2 advertisements were pulled up for being false and misleading. For their claim, “Haryana mein Dainik Jagran 2 guna Dainik Bhaskar se” Dainik Jagran has used the data of readership in the city of Faridabad and implied all state leadership. As a standard practice while comparing two publications, city data cannot and must not be referred to as state’s data. The CCC noted that the claim, ‘Haryana mein Dainik Jagran 2 guna Dainik Bhaskar se’ was not made on the basis Average Issue Readership (AIR), which was considered misleading.  On another occasion, their advertisement which stated that Dainik Jagran is “Haryana’s No.1 newspaper,” was also pulled up for misleading the readers by using visual aids to create the illusion of its leadership and gap between the newspaper brands. Complaints against both these print advertisements were Upheld for being false and misleading.

     

    Vodafone, which is usually known for their excellent taste in advertising, was under the radar in April, for their TVC which depicted school going kids getting attracted towards each other and fall in love. The CCC concluded that the sexualized subtext of young teens being attracted to one another was likely to cause grave and widespread offence. Hence, the complaint was Upheld.

     

    Pernod Ricard’s print advertisement on Absolut Kher, shows the visual depiction of a ‘bottle’ which is suggestive of a well known brand of liquor product – Absolut. The CCC concluded that the depiction of the bottle with the titles ‘Absolut’ was in violation of the ASCI Code as it propagated a product, the use of which is banned under the law. The complaint was Upheld.

     

    During the month of March, the CCC also received complaints against two advertisements of  Perfetti Van Melle, and one each against Gulf Oil India, HUL’s VIM Detergent Bar, and Cadbury India’s Perk Chocolate, Johnson’s Baby Top-To-Toe Wash, HUL’s Close Up toothpaste, Parle Mango Bite, Uninor, HUL’s Axe Shower Gel, and Tata Chemical Ltd’s Tata Swach Water Purifier. As these advertisements did not contravene ASCI’s codes or guidelines, the complaints were Not Upheld.

     

    Advertising Standards Council of India is a self regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry. The Role and Functioning of the ASCI & its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) is dealing with complaints received from Consumers and Industry against advertisements which are considered as false, misleading, indecent, illegal, leading to unsafe practices, or unfair to competition, and consequently in contravention of the ASCI code for self-regulation in advertising.

     

  • The media planners are happy with the TVR of 4 and feel that it's a good start for the show at the morning slot

    Planners happy with Satyamev’s 4.9 TVR

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Star India’s much discussed show Satyamev Jayate which premiered across nine channels – Star Plus, Star Pravah, DD National, ETV, Star Utsav, Vijay, Star Jalsha, Star World & Asianet – on May 6 got a rating of an average 4 TVR for the CS4+ in the Hindi speaking markets and an average of 4.9 TVR for the All 4+, according to the TAM viewership data.

     

    The media planners are happy with the TVR of 4 and feel that it’s a good start for the show at the morning slot. “With Aamir Khan hosting the show and the whole secrecy about what the show is going to be, the show got its viewers. The slot worked too, as the repeat telecast has got a lower TVR than the morning slot. However, I was expected a rating of 5. In the metros the show has done extremely well but one cannot rule out DD’s reach too,” said Mona Jain, CEO, VivaKi Exchange.

     

    The show which marks the entry of Aamir Khan on the small screen does not fall into the typical ‘entertainment’ genre. The content is serious; however, it didn’t stop people from watching. The show reached 27 million people (All4+ category).

     

    “It’s a good TVR for a show at a Sunday morning time slot. But we’ll have to wait and watch if the show will be able to maintain it. However, without a doubt, one can agree with the fact that the time slot has worked for both the show as well as the channel,” said Jai Lala, Principal Partner – Exchange at MindShare.

     

    Agreeing with Mr Lala, Anil Sathiraju, Mudra Max Media, Head – South, explained that the 11am time slot on weekends is much better today: “The opening TVR for the show is 4, so it’s that context it might be around 3.2 or 3.4 in the coming weeks which will help the channel be on the top slot.”

     

    Sundeep Nagpal, director, Stratagem Media, predicted that the show might get a rating between 3.2 to 3.7 on Star Plus. According to TAM, it was able to get a rating of 3 on the channel: “It is unfortunate that the show got a rating of only 3. Social transformations cannot happen with a TVR of 3; it needs much more than that. It is a good property which advertisers should be happy to be associated with.”

     

    “For a show of such caliber and content, marketers should associate with it because it means quality viewership rather than the numbers,” said Mr Sathiraju.