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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Condom TV ad curfew in the air -Sumi Sukanya

Condom TV ad curfew in the air -Sumi Sukanya

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published Published on Oct 4, 2015   modified Modified on Oct 4, 2015
-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Centre is examining a proposal to confine television ads for condoms to late-night hours.

The I&B ministry has taken up the matter amid what officials claimed was a "flood of complaints" from sections of viewers, including politicians.

"There is currently no restriction on condom advertisements. They can be shown at any time of the day and on any kind of channel, but this might change in the future as we're taking a fresh look," an official in the broadcasting division said.

Television content is classified into two groups - general (G) and restricted (R).

While general content is considered suitable for unrestricted viewing, the restricted content can only be aired between 11pm and 5am and is not intended for young viewers.

An official said there had been a spurt in requests to ban condom ads on television. "A ban is out of question. So, the matter being discussed is whether their broadcast can be restricted to certain hours which fall after family viewing time," he said.

An inter-ministerial committee will debate the issue soon. "If the committee decides to restrict the ads, letters will be sent to all TV channels registered with us to stick to the new norm and show those ads only during adult hours," the official said.

The official cited a letter from a lawyer in Nagpur, who had dwelt at length on "how condom ads are spoiling kids".

The lawyer's letter mentions that "while about twenty five years ago - when the first such ads started getting broadcast on TV - condoms were depicted as a contraceptive method and a way of family planning, present-day ads portray them as pleasure-enhancers and therefore have given rise to free sex".

The official said: "There have been numerous letters like that and some politicians have also requested the ministry to intervene."

Shweta Purandare, the secretary-general of the advertising industry watchdog, Advertising Standards Council of India, said that the body had received similar complaints and had been directing them to the ministry.

"We are meant to look into the content of advertisements - whether they deviate from the prescribed code for self-regulation in advertising - but since these complaints are related to something beyond our purview, we have been passing them on to the I&B ministry," she said.

The advertising industry has reacted to the government move with dismay, some members calling it an "archaic thought in this time and age."

"At a time when we should teach our kids the ways of safe sex, how can we ban or restrict condom ads on TV?" said ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar. "Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS are a reality. No developed, modern society can think of such medieval ideas as the one the government is even considering at the moment."

A senior executive with Ogilvy & Mather, a global advertising, marketing and public relations agency, said the idea appeared "ridiculous".

"Kids stay awake until late after parents these days and have access to the Internet all the time, so if the government, under pressure from a small section of the society, does something as stupid as restricting condom ads to a few hours at night, it will be a regressive step," he said. "Besides, it is nonsense to link morality with condom advertisements."

The Telegraph, 3 October, 2015, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151003/jsp/nation/story_45982.jsp#.VhC4zJc1t_m


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