SEBI relaxes advertising norms, keeps celebrity endorsements under prior approval

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed advertising norms for regulated financial entities by removing mandatory prior approval for most advertisements, but it has kept celebrity endorsements under a separate pre-approval regime. 

Under the new Common Advertisement Code, celebrity-led brand and entity-level promotions will require prior approval and safeguards, while other advertisements can be issued without advance clearance, subject to reporting to SEBI within three working days.

The regulator has specifically permitted celebrities to be used for brand-level and entity-level promotion by SEBI-regulated entities, subject to prior approval and prescribed safeguards. At the same time, SEBI has removed the mandatory prior approval requirement for advertisements that do not contain celebrity endorsements, replacing it with a post-issuance reporting requirement.

The distinction marks a significant change in the advertising framework for financial services companies. While regulated entities will have greater freedom to release conventional advertisements without waiting for mandatory regulatory approval, campaigns featuring celebrities will continue to require clearance before they are released.

Under the new framework, post-issuance reporting for advertisements that do not involve celebrity endorsements will have to be completed within three working days. Celebrity-led advertisements, however, remain outside this relaxed approval regime and will continue to require prior approval.

The Common Advertisement Code will cover stock brokers, depository participants, investment advisers, research analysts, online bond platform providers, portfolio managers and mutual funds or asset management companies. It replaces the separate advertising frameworks prescribed for these entities under various SEBI regulations, master circulars and other regulatory or supervisory requirements.

The move gives financial services brands a formal regulatory route to use celebrity equity in their brand-building campaigns. However, SEBI has stopped short of putting celebrity advertising on the same footing as routine promotional communication.

The regulator has also sought to distinguish promotional advertising from routine communication with investors. The Common Advertisement Code provides an illustrative list of communications that will not be treated as advertisements, recognising the difference between factual or investor-service communication and promotional content.

For the advertising industry, the celebrity provision is particularly relevant because financial services brands have increasingly used high-profile personalities as part of their broader brand-building strategies. Under the new framework, such campaigns can be undertaken by SEBI-regulated entities, but the requirement of prior approval means celebrity campaigns will continue to involve a different compliance process from conventional advertisements.

The code therefore creates a clear regulatory distinction. A non-celebrity campaign can move under a post-issuance reporting model, while a campaign featuring a celebrity remains subject to prior regulatory scrutiny.

SEBI has not, in the approved framework, specified additional details on the nature of the safeguards applicable to celebrity endorsements. The Board document only states that celebrity use for brand-level or entity-level promotion is permitted subject to prior approval and safeguards.

The Common Advertisement Code was approved as part of SEBI's Ease of Doing Business initiative. The proposals were deliberated with the Industry Standards Forum, supervisory bodies including stock exchanges and industry organisations such as the Association of Mutual Funds in India. SEBI also considered feedback received on its consultation paper issued on June 23, 2026.

The decision consequently represents both a relaxation and a tightening of the advertising regime, depending on the type of campaign. Ordinary advertisements receive greater flexibility through the removal of mandatory prior approval, whereas celebrity endorsements retain a pre-clearance requirement.

For financial brands and advertising agencies, the practical implication is that celebrity-led campaigns will remain a more tightly controlled category even as the wider advertising ecosystem moves towards greater operational freedom under a common set of rules.