ASA Adjudication on Caine Ltd

Ad

A sponsored link on the Google search engine stated "Designer Leather Jackets - Over 60 different styles. Unbeatable prices. Free UK Delivery".

Issue

The complainant objected that the advert's use of the term 'designer' was misleading, because none of the leather jackets on the website appeared to be well-known designer brands.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Caine Fashion said the New Oxford English Dictionary (1998) defined the word designer as "upmarket and fashionable". They said their website sold leather jackets that were designed and produced by Woodland, a small fashion brand based in East London. Caine Fashion maintained that their products were upmarket and fashionable and could therefore be described as designer leather jackets.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that Caine Fashion believed the Woodland branded jackets that they sold could be described as designer. However, they did not provide documentary evidence in support of the type of leather jackets sold through their website. We understood that the Oxford English Dictionary (2007) also used the term 'designer' to refer to clothing "made by a famous fashion designer". We considered that consumers could reasonably expect to find well-known fashion brands on the website, and because there was not, we concluded the ad was likely to mislead.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

We told Caine Fashion to ensure that they did not use the term 'designer' in their sponsored links in future. We advised Caine Fashion to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice Team for future adverts.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)