ASA Adjudication on Universal Music UK Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for the CD Billy Fury His Wondrous Story The Complete Collection, featured a number of music and film clips of the singer. The voice-over said "Billy Fury The Complete Collection. The definitive album from the iconic British rock and roll star contains all of his singles for the first time on one CD. Billy Fury The Complete Collection out now".

Issue

A viewer believed the ad was misleading because the CD did not contain all Billy Fury's singles, in particular those released between 1967 and 1981.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Universal Music said the main selling point of the CD was that it contained all Billy Furys singles.   They believed the Guinness Book of Hit Singles and Albums, a book detailing all singles that charted in the UK Top 75, confirmed that the CD contained all his singles.

Clearcast said they cleared the ad after they received confirmation from the advertising agency that the CD contained all Furys singles.  They said they fully endorsed Universal Musics comments.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that the CD contained all Billy Furys hit singles but noted that it did not include a further 17 that failed to chart.  We considered that, because the ad claimed the CD included all Furys singles, viewers were likely to believe it contained all his single releases, not just the chart hits. We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the contents of the CD.  

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.2 (Implications).

Action

The ad should not be shown again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)