Last year, actor Ranveer Singh channelised his inner ‘Gully Boy’ through one of CoinSwitch Kuber’s #KuchTohBadlega ad films. Through his desi rap, ‘Mar mar ke jeene ka Nahi toh dar dar ke jeene ka nahi’, he convinced his gang, who were playing carrom, to invest in cryptocurrency. And, the boys chimed together, ‘Apna time aa gaya bhai’ to Singh’s ‘Ab kya bol reli public?’. This ad film sort of encapsulates the cryptocurrency category in India. To target the pulse of the youth and to penetrate deeper into the country, crypto brands have been using celebrity power to make noise. From Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Keerthy Suresh, and Dinesh Karthik, to an army of major and micro-influencers have been pushing crypto brands since last year. While this trend was taking off, the marketing strategies of these brands somewhat crashed. Last month, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), wrote a letter to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to restrict celebrities from endorsing a volatile sector. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) stepped in to assert the fact that celebrities would be held accountable if the ads were found to be misleading. It said, ‘Actors had to do their due diligence". But do they?
The rules of crypto advertising
As per ASCI’s Manisha Kapoor, secretary-general and chief executive officer, as of now, there was no law in place that would prohibit them from endorsements on ‘volatile in nature’ subjects. “Since celebrities enjoy a great following and their words carry the potential to influence people, they have to do due diligence to understand a subject they do not have any domain expertise on. Under the law, all endorsers are responsible for the brands and services they promote," informs Kapoor. To be sure, ASCI doesn’t have legal powers for complaint redressal or removal of ads from the digital platform.
From April 1 this year,
ASCI asked all virtual digital assets (VDAs), which are commonly referred to as crypto or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to add the disclaimer: “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions." This needs to be carried out in a "prominent and unmissable" way in campaigns for products and services. According to Kapoor, disclaimers must be crafted in a manner that would be unmissed by the consumers. No small type and font, practically illegible writing. The guidelines mention how the disclaimer needs to be featured in ads that are online, in print, on television, in audio or social media posts.
She explains, “The disclaimer also needs to be made in the dominant language of the advertisement. If these are not followed, the celebrity is not aware of the guidelines, and if the ad is found to be misleading, they are liable to be prosecuted as per the Consumer Protection Act 2019. This involves monetary penalties and suspension from endorsing products as well."
Addressing the big P of marketing – Product
Harish Bijoor, brand guru and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, thinks that crypto products, and not its ‘advertising’ needed to raise their voice. “New brands will need to depend on direct contact programs, either through Whatsapp advertising or through various other digital means," he says. Crypto brands are already changing up their marketing. For instance, CoinSwitchKuber, collaborated with financial influencers like Rachana Ranade, Pranjal Kamra, and Sharan Hegde purely for educational content. The brand’s chief business officer, Sharan Nair, says this is critical to help consumers make informed investment decisions. In the case of influencers, ASCI has asked to add the “Paid Partnership" tag while creating branded content, so that there is no ambiguity.
