Endorsements Know-hows! Guidelines

March 10, 2023

“Endorsements Know-hows!” is a set of guidelines released by the Department of Consumer Affairs, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The guidelines are intended for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers who endorse products or services on social media platforms.

What are the objectives of Endorsements Know-How Guidelines?

The main purpose of the guidelines is to ensure that endorsers do not deceive their audiences and comply with the Consumer Protection Act and other related rules or guidelines. They require endorsements to be made in simple, clear language and for endorsers to only endorse products or services that they have personally used or experienced. They also specify how disclosures should be made, ensuring they are clear, prominent, and difficult to miss. It prohibits them from endorsing products or services that they haven’t personally used/ experienced or they haven’t taken due diligence. Overall, these guidelines are essential for promoting transparency and authenticity in the endorsement industry.

What is an endorsement?

Let us understand endorsement with an example. An employer is signing a paycheck for his employee. Here, the signature is the endorsement. It means the check authorises or endorses money transfer from the business account of the employer as salary.

What is the need for Endorsement Know-How guidelines?

When the actors and actresses, or the influencers are promoting a product or advertising a product, it means they are endorsing it. For instance, in unboxing videos, the influencer explains to the users about the pros and cons of the product. In other words, they are providing assurance that the product is good. Ethically such endorsements are wrong as the concerned person does this for money and he or she has not actually used the product. This misleads the public. Thus, there is a need for guidelines.

What is the Endorsement Know-How guideline saying?

The endorsement made should be in simple language. The celebrity should disclose the details about the payment and other perks they are receiving for endorsing the product. Also, they should substantiate the claims that are made by them in the advertisement.

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