ASA Adjudication on J D Williams & Company Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for a lingerie mail order company, stated in voice-over "At simplyyours.co.uk you can be certain of finding exactly what you want in the styles you want with the fit and size you need up to back size 50 and cup size J. For pretty sexy lingerie go online now or call free on 0800 ... for your catalogue ...".

Issue

One viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading because, when she visited the Simply Yours website, she was able to find only two styles of bra in her size, 30J.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Simply Yours said they supplied high-end attractive lingerie for women who, because of their size, were not widely catered for in high street shops.  They said there were two styles of bra, in a total of five colour options, available in the complainant's size.  Simply Yours explained that they offered a range of styles in a range of sizes but did not claim that they stocked all bras in all sizes.  They said there may have been a greater variety of styles in other sizes and added that they planned to have four styles in a total of nine colour options available in a 30J for the coming season.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) supported the response provided by Simply Yours.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the comments made by Simply Yours.  We understood that it was not their intention to claim that all bra styles came in all sizes up to 50J and we noted there were a greater variety of styles in the more common sizes.  However, the voice-over stated "... you can be certain of finding exactly what you want, in the styles you want, with the fit and size you need ..." and we considered this claim could give viewers the impression that they could pick and choose from a wide range of bra styles which would be available in all sizes up to 50J.  We considered this offer would be particularly attractive to those women who found it difficult finding a range of bras in their sizes on the high street.  Because we understood not all bra sizes up to 50J were available in all the styles, we considered that the ad could mislead and lead to disappointment for those who either went online to check availability or called the number provided to obtain a catalogue.

The ad breached CAP Broadcast (TV) Advertising Standards Code Rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications).

Action

We told Simply Yours to amend the ad to avoid giving viewers the impression that all bras were available in all the sizes stated.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)