Adret Retail Private Limited - Kapiva

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 advertisement. 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, “……..the advertisement uses a generic, unbranded grey bottle to represent “Other Energy Capsules,” along with a common symbolic “low battery” icon—neither of which bears any resemblance, visual or conceptual, to complainant’s product "Revital H". The allegation of Criminal Product Defamation is vehemently denied and contested. We categorically state that the comparison in the said advertisement is merely to caution the general public against many such spurious and dubious products which are floating in the market and in no way even remotely points to complainant’s product "Revital H". The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the Facebook advertisement, considered the complaint and the advertiser’s response. The CCC noted that the advertiser has denied the allegation of criminal product defamation, stating that the comparison shown is to caution the consumers against spurious products in the market and that neither the image nor the language used refers directly or indirectly to the complainant’s product. The CCC reviewed the advertisement for “Shilajit Energy Capsules” which shows a comparison with an unbranded bottle labelled “other energy capsules”. The CCC observed that the visual depiction of the “other energy capsules” bottle closely resembles the complainant’s product - Revital H, in terms of its shape and red coloured cap, both of which are associated with Revital H’s market identity. The CCC further observed that the advertisement includes claims about the “other energy capsules” such as “added chemicals & colour”, “made from artificial extracts”, and “non-veg”. This creates an implied reference to the complainant’s product - `Revital H’ and conveys a derogatory impression amounting to disparagement. Furthermore, the advertiser’s own product is described using terms such as “made from pure Shilajit”, “100% veg”, and “no added sugar or colour”. The CCC was of the view that this comparative representation creates an unfair impression that misleads consumers regarding the qualities of the complainant’s product. Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clause 1.4, and Chapter IV, Clause 4.1 (e) of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD.