It's an open secret in the advertising industry that in order to sell a company must bombard a consumer with so many ads in all the mediums that he is enticed to buy it whether he likes it or not is nobody's problem. The consumer is often confused. The ad war between Colgate and Hindustan Lever for supremacy in toothpaste is well-documented with the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Court (MRTPC) pulling up both the multinationals for misguiding the consumers.

The Advertisements Standards Council of India (ASCI) complaint cell, Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), in its latest quarterly report has listed 30 objectionableadvertisements which include advertisements by corporate bigwigs like HLL, Novartis, Britannia, Godrej, Mastercard and Colgate.

It's a blot for the advertising agency and to the company when ASCI or MRTPC has to pull them up and ask them to withdraw ads. Ad makers need not be told by the ASCI that they should be "honest in claims and not to be offensive to generally accepted standards of decency", it should come to them naturally.

Thanks to the low level of awareness and lack of information, it's easy to hoodwink an Indian consumer by getting celebrities to endorse a brand. Whether it's cola or toothpaste, brand managers need to be more responsible and include consumer's well-being in their strategy meetings. For the benefit of consumers, it is necessary to promote healthy competition among the companies who are advertising heavily. On the other hand, consumers should also deliberate and analyse -- especially those where technical terms are used -- about the way they are being taken for a ride.