ASA Adjudication on Zen Nails & Beauty

Ad

A press ad for Zen Nails & Beauty contained boxes that described the various hairdressing and beauty packages that were available. One box was headed "NOW OFFERING THREADING." Text beneath the heading stated "with Sophia from Eastern Arts - £5 each area." Zen's address, opening hours and telephone contact details were shown underneath the boxes.

Issue

Eastern Arts, a local competitor, challenged whether the ad was misleading for suggesting the treatment was carried out by a therapist they had trained. They objected to Zen suggesting a link with the training and expertise offered by Eastern Arts.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Zen Nails & Beauty said they employed two therapists who had previously worked at Eastern Arts. They said they did not believe, however, that the ad suggested their therapists were trained by Eastern Arts or that Zen were linked in any way with their expertise. Zen said the three salons run by Eastern Arts were four and a half, five and a half and eight and a half miles respectively from Zen's salon. Zen said they therefore did not believe their operation was likely to threaten Eastern Arts's business.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted that Zen did not believe their ad suggested a link between their therapists and Eastern Arts's training and expertise and that, because of the distance between their salon and Eastern Arts's salons, they did not believe their business was a threat to Eastern Arts. We considered, however, that the claim "with Sophia from Eastern Arts" was likely to suggest that Zen's therapist, Sophia, had close links with the training and expertise offered by Eastern Arts and that it was ambiguous because it could be understood to mean that the connection between Sophia and Eastern Arts was still current. We noted that Eastern Arts objected to the link they believed the ad made with their business. We concluded Zen had not demonstrated that the links the ad suggested existed between Sophia and Eastern Arts were valid.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 20.2 (Denigration and unfair advantage).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Zen to amend their ad to remove the suggestion of links between Sophia and the training and expertise offered by Eastern Arts.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)