ASA Adjudication on Project Safe Child Ltd

Ad

A direct mailing, sent to a business, requested donations towards drugs awareness books for schools. Text stated “Pledge reference PSC15945 … Thank you for your commitment to the Project Safe Child 2008 national drugs awareness campaign. Your nominated school will in time receive their set of books to be used by parents and children in raising their awareness of the perils of drugs, as explained earlier … ”. An invoice was enclosed, for £199.00, for “Class Packs of Drug Awareness books”.

Issue

The complainant objected that the ad misleadingly implied his company had agreed to make a pledge.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Project Safe Child said a sponsorship had been arranged verbally with the complainant; they did not have a recording of their telephone conversations with him but said they had itemised bills that showed four calls to the complainant, made in the days before the direct mail was sent to him.   They did not provide those bills but said when the complainant subsequently called them to cancel the arrangement they had done so.

Project Safe Child also said the company was due to cease trading.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted Project Safe Child sent no evidence to prove that the complainant had made a pledge to buy books for £199.  We also noted the company was due to cease trading and would therefore no longer be sending the direct mailing.

We concluded that the direct mailing was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)