ASA Adjudication on Stephen Norton

Ad

A brochure for Stephen Norton, a betting tipster, stated on the cover "ADVERTISED BY THE RACING POST COME RACING ‘It's not what you know in racing, it's who you know’ STEPHEN NORTON Racing Advisory Service Est. 1986". The following page showed a photograph of two men, one of whom was wearing a pilot’s uniform. Text stated " ... Stephen has been involved in racing for 20 years, has a fantastic knowledge of the sport with powerful people behind him ... I decided to start up my own helicopter-charter company … On a regular basis I have been transporting the world’s elite owners, trainers, jockeys and other people very important to the horse racing world … Having many friends who are some of the most powerful people in the racing world is also highly valuable ... there are only a handful of people in the country who know when to place their bets at the right time - known as professional punters. J.P. McManus is very well known for this … With this information and powerful friends behind me this is why my results are untouchable ...". The last page of the brochure showed a photograph of three men and a woman on a field, walking away from a helicopter. Text below the photograph said "Another successful days racing for myself and my crew. Receiving information from such powerful and influential people brings knowledge, inside information and the most important reason for everything behind racing - money & power ...".

Issue

Anne-Marie and Aidan O'Brien, who appeared in the photographs, and JP McManus challenged whether:

1. the brochure was misleading, because it implied that Stephen Norton obtained inside information from Mr and Mrs O'Brien and Mr McManus, which they claimed was not true and

2. Stephen Norton had permission to use the photographs of Mr and Mrs OBrien.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Stephen Norton did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by Stephen Norton's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 2.6 (Non-response). We reminded him of his obligations under the Code and told him to respond promptly in future.

We were concerned that Stephen Norton had not substantiated the brochures implication that he received inside information from Mr and Mrs O'Brien and Mr McManus. We were also concerned that he had not submitted evidence to show that he had permission to publish photographs of Mr and Mrs O'Brien.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.6 (Non-response), 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 13.1 (Protection of privacy).

Action

We told Stephen Norton to withdraw the brochure and asked CAP to inform its media members of the problem with Stephen Norton.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)