Royal Challengers break ad code?

Royal Challenge. If you thought this was the Bangalore IPL cricket team’s name, you would be wrong. The team is the Royal Challengers. But this is what the team jerseys say. McDowell’s No 1, White and Mackay are some other names adorning T-shirts of Royal Challengers players. Sanjib Kr Baruah tells more...

Royal Challenge. If you thought this was the Bangalore IPL cricket team’s name, you would be wrong.

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The team is the Royal Challengers. But this is what the team jerseys say. McDowell’s No 1, White and Mackay are some other names adorning T-shirts of Royal Challengers players. Not to speak of the frequent pop-ups on the TV screen during matches.

Surrogate liquor ads are having a field run in this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket.

“Questionable ads are being telecast. This is a clear violation of norms,” said a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) offic-ial requesting anonymity.

Earlier, TV telecasts of tobacco and alcohol products, co-products or brand extensions were totally banned. Rules were relaxed by a February 27, 2009 government notification, which said the I&B ministry would refer ads they had a problem with to the CBFC for preview. But more than a year has passed and no individual or department in the I&B ministry has been designated to monitor such ads. Said Sharmila Tagore, chairperson CBFC: “We have been for long writing to the I&B ministry to issue us proper guidelines but to no avail.” “There are no new ads in this year’s IPL,” countered Pramod Krishna, secretary general of Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies.