For decades, advertising regulation in India has largely been reactive, responding to misleading claims, exaggerated promises, or ethical breaches after they surface. But in an era where advertising no longer announces itself clearly, that model is beginning to show its limits. Influencer marketing, branded content, in-game promotions, algorithm-driven feeds and native advertising have blurred the line between content and commerce so thoroughly that even adults often struggle to tell where persuasion begins.
It is within this shifting media reality that the Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) launch of AdWise, an advertising literacy programme for schoolchildren, becomes significant. Rather than tightening rules alone, ASCI is now investing in education as a form of regulation, one that begins not in courtrooms or compliance handbooks, but in classrooms.
At its core, AdWise signals a recognition that advertising today is no longer just something consumers see; it is something they live inside. And if future consumers are growing up immersed in persuasive messaging that rarely looks like advertising, then understanding how it works becomes a life skill, not just a regulatory concern.
A fundamentally different advertising environment
According to ASCI, the decision to introduce advertising literacy at the school level was driven by how dramatically children’s exposure to advertising has changed in the digital era.
“Children today are exposed to advertising from a very young age in ways that are fundamentally different from earlier generations across digital platforms, gaming environments, social media, and everyday offline spaces. While they are digital natives, ASCI observed that many children lack the cognitive and critical skills needed to identify, interpret, and question subtle, immersive commercial messages,” says Ms. Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI.
Unlike traditional television commercials or print ads, modern advertising often arrives disguised as entertainment, peer recommendation or creator content. Influencer-led promotions blend seamlessly into reels and vlogs. In gaming environments, branded experiences appear as rewards or upgrades. Algorithms personalise ads so precisely that persuasion can feel intuitive rather than imposed.
For young audiences, especially those between Grades 3 and 8, this makes advertising harder to spot, let alone critically assess. ASCI’s concern, Kapoor explains, is not that children are consuming content online, but that they are doing so without the tools to decode intent.
Filling a gap in India’s education system
One of the clearest triggers behind AdWise was the absence of a formal advertising literacy framework in Indian schools.
“India currently does not have a structured advertising literacy framework within school education. This gap, combined with ASCI Academy’s long-standing focus on consumer education and the protection of vulnerable audiences, created both the need and the opportunity to launch Adwise,” Kapoor notes.
Designed for students from Grades 3 to 8, the programme introduces children to the basics of advertising what it is, where it appears, and why it exists, while gradually building their ability to question claims, distinguish content from promotion, and understand influence. ASCI has set an ambitious target for the programme, aiming to reach one million students across 2,000 schools by the end of 2026 through structured classroom sessions.
Education as a complement to regulation
The launch of AdWise has also sparked an important question within the industry: does teaching consumers to be more discerning shift responsibility away from advertisers and regulators?
Kapoor is clear that this is not the intent. “The AdWise programme is not about shifting responsibility away from brands or regulators; it is about strengthening the overall advertising ecosystem. Ethical advertising continues to rest firmly with advertisers, agencies, platforms and regulators, and ASCI remains committed to upholding and enforcing those standards,” she says.
Instead, AdWise positions education as a third pillar, alongside regulation and responsible advertising that reflects the complexity of today’s media environment. In this sense, advertising literacy becomes preventive rather than punitive. It does not replace oversight, but reinforces it by ensuring that audiences, especially young ones are less vulnerable to misleading or manipulative messaging.
An industry in transition
For industry observers, AdWise is also a sign of how far advertising itself has evolved over the past decade.
“The AdWise of ASCI is a step in the right direction and much ahead of its time. The industry of advertising has undergone a paradigm shift in the past decade with a revolution caused by digital and social media platforms in the field of advertising,” says Bhaskar Majumdar, Senior Brand Consultant.
Majumdar points out that advertising today is no longer linear or one-directional. It is shaped by algorithms, creators, communities and formats that did not exist even a few years ago.
“The modern advertising world is increasingly complex, with influencers, algorithms, and native advertising, and a foundation laid down early in advertising literacy is more important than ever,” he adds.
From this perspective, AdWise is not merely a consumer protection initiative, it is also a recognition that the audience has changed, and so must the tools used to engage with it.
Creating responsible consumers, not cynical ones
A common concern around advertising literacy is whether it could make young audiences overly sceptical or dismissive of advertising altogether. But proponents argue that the goal is not cynicism, but informed engagement.
“Offering the same at the school level will enable consumers to evaluate and decode the advertisement campaigns responsibly instead of just consuming them,” Majumdar says.
This distinction matters. Advertising literacy does not teach children to reject advertising, but to understand its purpose, techniques and influence. In doing so, it arguably creates better consumers ones who can appreciate creativity, while also questioning claims.
For brands and agencies, this could eventually raise the bar for communication. As audiences become more discerning, transparency and authenticity may no longer be optional, but expected.
What AdWise ultimately represents
At a time when advertising is increasingly ambient—woven into feeds, formats and friendships—AdWise reflects a broader shift in how India is thinking about regulation. The focus is no longer only on controlling messages, but on empowering audiences.
By introducing advertising literacy at the school level, ASCI is acknowledging a simple but powerful truth: regulation cannot keep pace with every new format, platform or creator. But education can equip consumers to navigate them.
As children grow up inside algorithm-driven ecosystems, understanding persuasion may be as essential as learning mathematics or language. AdWise, in that sense, is not just about advertising, it is about preparing the next generation to engage critically with a media world where influence is constant, subtle and increasingly invisible.
And in doing so, it quietly reframes the future of advertising regulation, not as a system that only reacts to change, but one that anticipates it.
