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Social Media Influencers have a new reason to celebrate. They have gone beyond their current status of being Internet stars with a fan following that everyone envied, and marketers wooed. They are now celebrities.
Yes, Celebrities – in the same league as film stars and sports personalities.
The stardom has been conferred on them by none other than the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the trade body that lays down all advertising guidelines.
The Council’s latest update classifies all those social media influencers as celebrities who have a 5 lakh plus fan following or earn over Rs 40 lakh per year through endorsements.
So far, only film and sports stars were classified as celebrities when it came to brand endorsements.
The move upwards also has its challenges. The Influencers will now have to do proper home work before they endorse a product. Like other celebrity endorsers they will now be morally and ethically responsible for every promotion. When asked, they will also be required to furnish evidence of their research to ASCI.
Like celebrities, Influencers can no longer endorse products whose advertising is legally prohibited.
This is ASCI’s way of ensuring that celebrities don’t endorse misleading messages. Last year, that is in 2022-23 the number of misleading ads featuring celebrities went up from 55 to 500. This happened despite stricter gate control by ASCI.
The Influencers certainly need to do their due diligence now. They cannot let their followers down by endorsing products or services that lead to financial loss or may even cause
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