Matrimony.com Limited - Kerala matrimony

Recommendation: 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 claims in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claims 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, “We reiterate and confirm that our claim of “No.1 Choice for Malayalis” is adequately backed up by third party data. We strongly rely on Apple App Store and Google play store’s downloads data provided by Data.ai from January to December 2024”. As claim support data, the advertiser submitted the following documents – (1) Copy of screen shot of claim with disclaimer, (2) Extract of Data ai for January to December 2024 highlighting the number of downloads of Kerala Matrimony and Malayalee Shaadi, (3) Extract of Google Keyword Planner for February 2024 to January 2025 comparing Kerala Matrimony and Malayalee Shaadi, (4) Screenshots from data.ai on comparative data on downloads of Kerala Matrimony-vs- Malayalee Shaadi. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the TV advertisement and the YouTube advertisement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOcF3txKeC8), considered the complaint, and the advertiser’s response along with the claim support data. The CCC observed that the advertisement cites the source of the claim as "Based on the total number of app downloads according to Data.ai over the past 12 months". The CCC discussed that the advertiser's response emphasizes that Kerala Matrimony has substantially higher download figures, supporting their claim of being the No. 1 choice for Malayalis. To further substantiate their claim, they have presented data from Google Keyword Planner which indicates that Kerala Matrimony captures a dominant share of search traffic in the online matchmaking category over the course of 2024. This data reinforces their position as the preferred choice among Malayalis for matchmaking services. The CCC further discussed that the claim is based on data from Data.ai, an analytics platform that monitors app performance. While Data.ai offers valuable insights for app and online analytics, it is not a formal market research firm and does not adhere to the methodologies or ethical standards typically followed by such organizations. As a result, the data, including download and traffic metrics, may not be as consistent or validated as data from traditional market research. The CCC discussed that simply counting app downloads or website visits does not necessarily prove that the advertiser’s Telugu matrimony is No.1 Choice for Telugus. While the download numbers show how often the app has been installed, they do not reflect how many users are actively engaged with the platform, nor do they account for the number of active or registered users who regularly sign up or return to the app. The search volume data, while showing higher interest in Kerala Matrimony, does not directly confirm that the users are consistently choosing their app over competitors. Based on this assessment, the CCC concluded that the claim, “Kerala Matrimony - No.1 Choice for Malayalis”, was inadequately substantiated. The claim is misleading by exaggeration and is likely to lead to widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers.  The said claim contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD