Rebel Foods Private Limited - Behrouz

Recommendation: Not Upheld | Medium: General Public

The ASCI had approached the brand owner - advertiser (Rebel Foods Private Limited) and the influencer (Harsh Salve) 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. The advertiser and the influencer were also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and they both submitted their written response. The advertiser stated that, `the Harsh Salve's LinkedIn was an organic post’. The advertiser further had a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat and provided a signed copy of the declaration in support of the same. The influencer in his response stated that, `The post in question was purely a marketing case study and personal analysis of branding efforts by Behrouz Biryani, shared with the intention of offering educational value and insights for fellow marketers and students’. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the LinkedIn advertisement (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harsh-salve-digimark_marketing-storytelling-biryanilove-activity-7303640558885871616-3Ibr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAFlpu94BLxGoGFyukreKGY-Axaqk6Tp-FVI), considered the complaint, the advertiser’s response, and the influencer’s response. The CCC observed that the advertisement shows an influencer promoting the advertiser’s product - `Behrouz Biryani’. The CCC noted that the influencer has clarified that the LinkedIn post was part of his academic work. He emphasized that there was no commercial intent, sponsorship, or brand collaboration. The advertiser has also clarified that the LinkedIn post was not a paid promotion or sponsored ad. As proof, the advertiser has submitted a declaration of having no material connection directly or indirectly with the influencer. This confirms that the influencer's LinkedIn post is a work of personal content. Based on the evidence provided by the advertiser, 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.