ASA Adjudication on Joan Marie

Ad

A direct mailing, from Joan Marie, was sent in an envelope that stated "I am worried about you … did you receive my previous letter? You are about to miss 88 days of luck …" The letter stated that the author had 27 years of psychic experience and offered "psychic predictions for love, luck and riches" to reveal "your precise lucky periods ..." and "the main events that will occur in your life". It asked "Why haven't you answered me, [complainant's name]? ... I see that you are very lonely. You don’t have a truly close friend … someone you can put your trust in.” The mailing claimed “I CAN HELP YOU WIN ALL THE MONEY that you so desperately need. For instance I can help you win a big jackpot or I can help you develop your business” and invited readers to subscribe to a monthly service by filling out a "Lucky Coupon for 88 Days of Happiness, Luck and Money in the Next 8 Months".

Issue

The complainant challenged the truthfulness of the claims and objected that the mailing exploited lonely or vulnerable people and was likely to cause fear and distress.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Joan Marie declined to comment on the mailing.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that many people enjoyed astrology and that mailings were generally sent to those who had expressed an interest in receiving an astrological reading. We considered, however, that mailings were sent to a wide range of people including those whose circumstances could render them vulnerable, and that even recipients who enjoyed and believed in astrology could still be misled or exploited. We considered that claims presented in a definitive and precise manner such as "You are about to miss 88 days of luck ..." were objective claims that required substantiation, and we noted Joan Marie had not provided evidence to support their claims. We also considered that statements such as "I am worried about you ... did you receive my previous letter? ... Why haven't you answered me, [complainant's name]? ... I see that you are very lonely. You don't have a truly close friend ... someone you can put your trust in." constituted an appeal to fear and were likely to distress and exploit vulnerable recipients, in particular because their expressed interest in receiving a reading suggested that they had a belief in astrology and might consider it unlucky not to respond by subscribing to the service. We concluded that the mailing was likely to mislead, exploit and cause distress to vulnerable recipients.

The mailing breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 6.1 (Honesty), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 9.1 (Fear and Distress)

Action

The ad should not reappear in its current form. We told Joan Marie to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice team before distributing future advertising material.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)