Not an easy question to answer, but we asked it nevertheless. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das’s response to our question in the March 31 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…
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Q. IPL is also the time when the maximum ad-related controversies happen. Alcohol brands, Edtech claims and now gambling sites? Shouldn’t the government issue an advisory so as to avoid these advertisers running amuck?
A. The subject in your question has been a bone of contention (read controversy) for eons as regulating surrogacy advertisements to circumvent formal regulation, has not yet been evolved. Creativity can always find a way to communicate a message within the framework given by the government. A self-regulatory body like ASCI can act but there has to be a complaint from civil society or from an advertiser. But that might not prevent the initial airing of the advertisements. The other route could be a draconian legislation whereby no communication in any media, in whatever surrogate format, would be allowed. The moral justification for such an action might evoke protests against democratic right of expression. Come to think of it, it’s a complex subject that defy a black and white answer.