Skip to content
PromoVeritas
PromoVeritas
Contact Us
PromoVeritas
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do and Why
  • Our Work
  • News
  • Join the Team
  • Contact

August’s ASA Rulings Recap

Abi Roman August 30, 2019

Our Compliance Manager, Amy Powell, takes a look at Advertising Standards Authority’s latest rulings, and the impact they have on the industry.

Cocoa Brown & Olivia Buckland

Reality TV star and Influencer, Olivia Buckland was ruled against for promoting Cocoa Brown fake tan without clear disclosure of a commercial relationship.

The ASA received a compliant challenging whether the post was obviously identifiable as a marketing communication. They took the view that she was paid to market their products and that Cocoa Brown had some control over any content she produced. Although she included the term “brand ambassador” in her bio, it was unlikely to be seen by Instagram users at the point they were viewing individual advertising posts.

 Impact: Influencers absolutely must label each individual advertorial post as such. It is not enough to state that they are a Brand Ambassador on their profile page alone. The usual rules of labelling apply here.

Skinny Caffe & Jemma Lucy

Influencer Jemma Lucy was ruled against for promoting the weight loss benefits of Skinny Caffe when it was public knowledge that she was pregnant.

The ASA investigated after receiving 25 complaints and ruled that the post didn’t adequately disclose a commercial relationship and, more importantly, “the ad encouraged an unsafe practice and was irresponsible” because she was seen to be promoting weight loss during pregnancy.

Impact: The usual advice regarding labelling advertorial content accurately still stands – #ad or Paid Partnership With, needs to be used. However, more significantly, brands that are claiming weight loss or health/nutritional benefits need to seriously consider which Influencers they are using to promote their products and what this could imply to their audience further down the chain of communication. Read more about the Ruling here.

 Gender Stereotyping Ads Banned

Following complaints from the public, VW had their TV advert banned under the new ASA rules designed to reduce gender stereotyping. VW said that it’s ad was not sexist for portraying a mum with a new born vs men in adventurous and daring roles.

Impact: Brands need to seriously consider how this rule impacts adverts that they have already created and paid for their space in the media. Lots of brands and law firms (including Lewis Silkin) are calling the ASA to reconsider their “stringent approach” to policing this rule, but even tongue-in-cheek adverts such as the Philadelphia promotion have capacity to cause “widespread offence” and receive an uncompliant ruling.

Football Index Gambling App Ad Banned

Gambling app Football Index featured players under the age of 25 such as Raheem Sterling, therefore breaking the CAP Code rule stating  that nobody under 25 should be depicted gambling or play a significant role in a gambling advert unless the ad is displayed in a place where a bet can be made, such as a bookmaker’s premises or website. Their placement on the app broke this rule.

Impact: All content promoting gambling services need to refrain from using imagery of people – famous or not – who either appear to be or are under the age of 25. The only exception to this is when the imagery is used directly on the website where the bet can be placed.

Home Office Ad Banned

Even governmental departments are not free from reprisal when it comes to uncompliant rulings. The ASA have stated that their advert regarding residency for EU citizens was misleading because it didn’t state fully what was required of applicants and made it sound simpler than it was.

Impact: Every advert must state clearly and accurately all significant conditions and requirements, even when the advert isn’t featuring a promotion, but simply promoting a service. The need for clear call to actions cannot be underestimated in order to avoid claims of misleading your target audience. Read more about the Ruling here.

Amy says “The spotlight on Influencer marketing continues to shine brightly, whilst recent new rulings highlight how strictly the ASA are clamping down on brands and Influencers flouting the rules surrounding advertorials”. To find out how PromoVeritas can help you to avoid an ASA Ruling contact info@promoveritas.com or call 0203 325 6000.

Run it Right

« London Advertising Softball League End of Season Recap ASA bans Home Office advert »

Call us on 0203 325 6000 to find out how we can help your promotion

+44 (0)203 325 6000
info@promoveritas.com
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do and Why
  • Our Work
  • News
  • Join the Team
  • Contact
Proud members of ISO-27001 Accredited Proud members of
Run it Right.
© 2023 PromoVeritas
Privacy Policy Terms of Service Website Terms & Conditions Cookies Policy
We use cookies on our website. All the cookies we use can be viewed using the Cookie Settings button. By clicking “ACCEPT” you consent to the use of all cookies. You cannot disable our essential cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Read More
ACCEPTCookie settings
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Essential
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

CookieTypeDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary011 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary011 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
viewed_cookie_policy011 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Non Essential

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

CookieTypeDurationDescription
_ga01 yearThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-15728851-301 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gid01 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
bcookie01 yearThis cookie is set by linkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
bscookie11 year
csrftoken011 monthsThis cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
GPS030 minutesThis cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
IDE11 yearUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
ig_did11 year
ig_nrcb01 year
lang0This cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
li_sugr02 months
lidc01 dayThis cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
lissc01 year
mid01 yearThe cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
test_cookie011 months
u02 months
UserMatchHistory01 month
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE15 monthsThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
YSC1This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Save & Accept