Britannia Industries Limited - Britannia

Recommendation: Not Upheld | Medium: General Public

The ASCI had approached the advertiser (Britannia Industries Limited) and the influencer (Gourav Sharma) for their respective responses in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser and the influencer with a request to respond to the same. They were also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat which they did not avail, and the advertiser and the influencer submitted their response. The advertiser stated that, “the influencer does not have any material connection with us and has organically reposted the original content from his handle”. The advertiser then had a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, and further provided a signed copy of the declaration in support of the same. The influencer submitted that, “I tagged Britannia Industries Limited purely to give due credit for their thoughtful initiative. There was no material connection, monetary exchange, or agreement with the brand related to this post”. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the LinkedIn post [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gauravfeel_nature-britannia-ecofriendly-activity-7283879434086952961-uDFG/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios] considered the complaint, and the response from the advertiser and the influencer. The CCC observed that the advertisement shows an influencer promoting the advertiser’s billboard. The CCC noted that the post was not part of any paid collaboration or sponsored content. It was simply a gesture of appreciation for the creative and eco-friendly marketing efforts by the advertiser. The influencer found their marketing initiatives inspiring and felt it was worth sharing with his network. The CCC also took note of the advertiser’s response that the influencer has no paid connection with the advertiser. As proof, the advertiser submitted a signed declaration of having no material connection directly or indirectly with the influencer. Based on this evidence, the CCC concluded that the LinkedIn advertisement is not in contravention of ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media. This complaint was NOT UPHELD.