New Delhi, Jun 10 (IANS): Issuing the new guidelines for manufacturers, service providers, advertisers and advertising agencies, the Centre on Friday clarified that even celebrity endorsements need to be done with due diligence to avoid fines.

Endorsements by celebrities or professionals and other issues were discussed at a media briefing by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) in connection with the Central Consumer Protection Authority (Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Necessary Due Diligence for Endorsement of Advertisements) Guidelines, 2022 issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

"Any endorsement must reflect the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the individual, group or organisation making such representation and must be based on adequate information about, or experience with, the identified goods, product or service and must not otherwise be deceptive," said the relevant clause of the Guidelines.

Asked if these guidelines will be applicable to celebrities, especially actors and sportspersons, Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, said, "They have to be sure; they should do adequate homework. I know it is a subjective thing, but the spirit here is that they should not randomly endorse any and every advertisement. They should carry out some due diligence so that they can take responsibility for the claims made in the advertisement."

Due diligence may not mean that the celebrity himself or herself tries out that product or service but it can be a considered opinion of his family member or a trusted person, he explained.

Asked if a celebrity endorsement is liable to be fined, Singh said, "If there is a violation of the guidelines, the Consumer Protection Authority is authorised under the Act to levy fines. There are maximum provisions mentioned so it is up to the authority to carry out enough examination as to what is commensurate with the violation of the law."

The whole idea is to make the framework of consumer protection fair, transparent, reasonable and objective even when it cannot be made 100 per cent so, he said.

"Where Indian professionals, whether resident of India or otherwise, are barred under any law from making endorsement in any advertisement, foreign professionals of such profession shall also be not permitted to make endorsement in such advertisement," said Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, DoCA.

Referring to the Department's earlier action wherein it had censored Sensodyen toothpaste for showing an Indian-origin doctor advocating its products, Singh said, "The dental association prohibits its members from endorsing such products and hence professionals cannot be shown. But then, the advertisers brought in foreign nationals with Indian looks for the same. The new guidelines disallow such kinds of endorsement."