Dhoni, Kohli among top five celebrities guilty of violating advertising rules: ASCI

ASCI, a self-regulatory body that oversees and ensures fair usage of advertisements in India under the ASCI code, released the half-yearly complaints report on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: MS Dhoni during a promotional event in 2018. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Former India captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have been found guilty of violating the advertising rules set by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

ASCI, a self-regulatory body that oversees and ensures fair usage of advertisements in India under the ASCI code, released the half-yearly complaints report on Wednesday.

According to the official report, Dhoni tops the list of non-compliant celebrities for the advertiser, Tictok Skill Games Private Limited, in the gaming category. He has violated the rule 10 times, while Kohli has violated the rule, working under the advertiser, Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited, five times.

Despite the Consumer Protection Act now requiring celebrities to do their due diligence when appearing in advertisements, 97 per cent of cases processed by ASCI involving celebrities failed to provide any evidence of due diligence.

The regulatory body also reported a significant increase in the number of complaints involving celebrities in 2022–23, with 503 ads involving celebrities processed compared to 55 ads the previous year.