Srinivasan K. Swamy elected chief of Advertising Standards Council of India

New Delhi: Srinivasan K. Swamy, chairman and managing director, R K Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd, has been unanimously elected as the chairman of the board of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Friday. An advertising veteran with nearly four decades of experience, he has been a member of the board of governors of the industry watchdog for close to 10 years. Swamy takes over

from HT Media Ltd’s executive director, Benoy Roychowdhury who will continue to be a part of the board.

Abanti Sankaranarayanan, vice-chairperson, Confederation of Indian Alcohol Beverage Companies (CIABC), was elected vice-chairman and Shashidhar Sinha, chief executive officer, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd., was re-appointed the honorary treasurer.

Roychowdhury, the outgoing chairman of ASCI, said “ASCI completed 30 glorious years on 21 October 2015. We entered into the second year of collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) and processed more than 1,000 complaints against misleading advertisements received through Department of Consumer Affairs portal: Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA - gama.gov.in). Encouraged by the success of the mobile app, we launched a WhatsApp number for consumers to send in complaints conveniently.”

Speaking on his new role, Swamy said, “It is indeed an honour to be elected as chairman of ASCI which has progressively contributed to effective self-regulation in advertising content. ASCI will continue to engage with stakeholders. It is heartening to note that the Parliamentary Standing Committee has recognized the role played by ASCI and have recommended that ASCI should be given some legal teeth. I am, therefore, quite excited to take over the mantle as ASCI chairman at this time when so many important things are on the anvil to strengthen further the principles of self-regulation. I do hope to make 2016-17, yet another landmark year.”

Swamy has headed many industry bodies in the past including Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations (201-2012), Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for three consecutive terms (2004-07) and continues to take an active interest in the association as an executive committee member. He served four years as the president of the India chapter of International Advertising Association and is now the senior vice-president, IAA Global.

Earlier this year he was elected as vice-chairman of Asian Federation of Advertising Associations. He is a board member of Audit Bureau of Circulations.

A chemical engineer with a management degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Swamy also works on various social service projects.

Swamy’s RK Swamy Hansa Group includes companies such as RK Swamy BBDO, HansaVision, Hansa Research, Hansa Customer Equity and Hansa Estates in India and HANSA|GCR and Hansa Marketing Services in the USA.

These companies cover business interests in advertising, marketing services, social and rural sector communication, health care communication, market research among others.