ASA Adjudication on Margaret

Ad

A magazine ad for a clairvoyant stated "Do you need urgent help to solve a problem? Does the future appear hopeless? MARGARET CAN HELP YOU STEP FROM THE DARKNESS & PAIN INTO A BRIGHTER TOMORROW LOVE, MONEY, CURSES, FAMILY, STRESS, CAREER, EXAMS Know in advance the right direction to take to avoid obstacles. Love need no longer pass you by ... Resolve serious problems in your love ... Know your favourable financial phases and ... WIN. Without Margaret's guidance you will miss out on opportunities. Margaret will tackle your problems head on and solve them".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad implied that the advertiser's services were certain to work.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Margaret did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by Margaret's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 2.6 (Non-response). We reminded Margaret of her responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told her to do so in future.

In the absence of any response or evidence to substantiate the claims made in the ad, we considered that the claims had not been proven. We concluded that the ad was misleading and could exploit vulnerable people.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.6 (Non-response), 3.1 (Substantiation), 6.1 (Honesty) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

We told Margaret not to repeat the claims in future marketing. We urged her to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again and asked CAP to inform its members of the problem with Margaret.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)