Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd. - Radio Mango

Recommendation: Not Upheld | Medium: Industry Member

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claim in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claim with supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and submitted their response. The advertiser in their response stated that, “MMCL engaged the services of TAM Media Research Private Limited to analyse the market and statistics of the listeners and published a report. Based on the said report, Radiomango was the first among the other channels and the report was advertised as part of its brand promotion”. As claim support data, the advertiser submitted a `Listing & Brand Health Study For Radio Mango’ by TAM. The advertiser’s response along with the claim support data was referred to an Independent technical expert of ASCI for an opinion in the matter. The expert’s opinion was then shared with the complainant and the advertiser for making additional submissions. The advertiser did not respond to the expert opinion. In response to the technical expert’s opinion, the complainant submitted that, “We doubt whether the expert committee has thoroughly examined the tag line of the advertisement which says that “Radio Mango is always No.1”. Did the expert committee examine the previous survey findings to substantiate this claim? Or else, how could the expert committee arrive at a conclusion based on a single research finding? We strongly believe that the Opposite Party (Radio Mango) has violated the Para 1.4 of ASCI code of Self – Regulation.” The submissions made by the complainant were shared with the technical expert for final opinion. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the print advertisement considered the complaint, the advertiser’s response along with the claim support data, and the expert’s final opinion presented at the meeting. The CCC observed that the advertisement in Malayalam claims, “Radio Mango is always No. 1. This time it is more superior”. The source in the advertisement states, “TAM Radio Listenership Survey (Kerala 2024)”. The CCC discussed that the claim made for Radio Mango is based on a research study conducted by TAM Media Research in 2024. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made certain recommendations, but a regulatory body for third-party measurement of radio has yet to be implemented. The advertiser has used data from TAM (Television Audience Measurement) which is considered reliable and robust. The CCC further discussed that the data provided by the complainant, which comes from the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) is over four years old. This may not be the best comparison especially at a station level. The complainant has not provided any evidence to counter the advertiser's claim of being `No.1’. The CCC reviewed the TAM data and discussed that the study findings indicate that Radio Mango has emerged as the market leader in Kerala, outperforming its competitors across several key metrics. It leads in total awareness recall, FM name recognition, frequency, and slogan recall. Radio Mango is the most favored FM station with the highest radio listenership and frequent tuning in. The listeners rate it as the best FM station. Based on this assessment, the CCC concluded that the claim, “Radio Mango is always No. 1. This time it is more superior”, was substantiated. The said claim is not in contravention of Chapter I of the ASCI Code. This complaint was NOT UPHELD. We acknowledge your email dated January 31, 2025 and note that you will not be using the word “Always” in future advertisements. We appreciate your action in the said matter.