ASA Adjudication on Volkswagen Group UK Ltd

Ad

A direct mailing, for the Passat Highline, comprised an outer envelope, a form and a booklet.

The outer envelope was brown and stated "CASE NO. 5624" in the top left-hand corner. The number "5624" seemed to have been written by hand. Text on the envelope stated "Patient:" and was followed by the recipient's address label. Below that large text, which seemed to be handwritten, stated "HOW DOES YOUR DAILY COMMUTE MAKE YOU FEEL?" Small text on the reverse of the envelope stated " ... If undelivered, please return to: Volkswagen Passenger Cars ...".

The form was pale green and resembled a prescription form. The recipient's name and address, an empty space for the "Pharmacy Stamp" and the "Signature of Prescriber" were on the front page. Text also stated "Number of days' treatment N.B. Ensure dose is stated 1 ... Endorsements Passat Highline Test-drive Take Once ...". The Volkswagen logo was in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. The inside pages posed a series of questions about what the recipient wanted from a car and invited the recipient to tick a box indicating they wished to test-drive the Passat Highline. Text stated " ... Active ingredients: *Leather upholstery *17" alloy wheels *Multi-function steering wheel ...".

The booklet's cover was brown and resembled a medical file. Text in the top right hand corner stated "OFFICE USE ONLY". The recipient's address label and a box containing a signature were at the top of the form. A table below listed dates and corresponding symptoms which seemed to have been handwritten: "3/12/07 Signs of stress 4/01/08 VERY IRRITABLE 1/02/08 CONSTANT HEADACHES 2/03/08 HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE 28/03/08 EXTREME FATIGUE". The Volkswagen logo, which seemed to have been drawn by hand, appeared in the bottom right hand corner of the page. The inside of the booklet featured several photographs of the interior and exterior of the Passat Highline; text stated "The Passat Highline: just what the doctor ordered ... To cure the misery of the commute, a Passat Highline really is the best medicine. And the best way to see that for yourself is to take a test-drive ...".

Issue

The ASA received 18 complaints:

1. All the complainants, 13 of whom were undergoing medical treatment or had a family member who was undergoing medical treatment, thought the mailing misleadingly resembled medical notes and a doctors prescription form and was not clearly presented as a marketing communication.

2. All the complainants thought the mailing could cause undue anxiety and distress to recipients, particularly to those undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment.

3. Three of the complainants thought the mailing was offensive, particularly to those undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Volkswagen said the mailing, which concentrated on the benefits of a car with luxury features, was targeted at consumers who spent long periods of time commuting by car.  They said their research showed that Passat customers spent most of their driving time commuting and the average UK commute lasted 54 minutes.  They explained that, because driving to and from work was often associated with stress, they built the mailing around the question "How does your daily commute make you feel?"  They used a mock set of doctors notes and a mock prescription form to tie in with the idea that the Passat Highline was "just what the doctor ordered".

Volkswagen stated that the mailing was sent to 69,976 recipients comprising 13,839 current customers, 2,839 lapsed customers, 23,298 prospective customers and 30,000 cold contacts.  The recipient data was screened against various suppression mechanisms including the Mailing Preference Service, the Mortascreen database of deceased people and the Bereavement Register, to avoid causing offence to recipients and to maximise the positive impact of the mailing.

They said there were no current plans to repeat the mailing, to send out similar mailings or to create versions of the mailing in different media.

1. Volkswagen said the mailing was presented in an outer envelope which imitated the style of folder that stored medical notes in a doctors surgery.  They argued that there were several indications that the envelope was a marketing communication: firstly, the words "HOW DOES YOUR DAILY COMMUTE MAKE YOU FEEL?", which appeared in large bold capital letters across the front of the envelope and seemed to be handwritten, highlighted the fact that the envelope contained marketing material, not medical information, because it would be difficult to conceive of circumstances in which those words would be written on a set of medical notes.  Secondly, they pointed out that a sticky address label, which they said was obviously mass produced and of the type commonly used for large scale direct mail promotions, was on the front of the envelope, which would alert the average reasonably observant recipient to its status as a marketing communication.  Thirdly, they believed the Royal Mail POSTAGE PAID emblem at the top right-hand corner of the envelope suggested that the envelope was a direct mail piece and did not contain genuine medical notes.  Fourthly, they pointed out that the postal address of Volkswagen Passenger Cars was clearly marked on the reverse of the envelope.  They therefore believed a reasonable person would not need to open the envelope to find out that it was a marketing communication, because a quick inspection of both sides of the envelope would reveal the origin of the mailing and the product advertised.  They also argued that consumers were aware that, because medical notes were highly confidential, they would never be posted to a patient.

Volkswagen said brand logos were clearly positioned on the front and back of the booklet to clarify that it was a Volkswagen promotional mailing, not a medical pack.  They pointed out that the inner pages of the booklet were printed in full colour on glossy paper, which was in keeping with the appearance of a standard promotional brochure.  They said, when the booklet was opened, a colour photograph of the Passat Highline featured prominently on the first page, which made clear that the booklets contents had no connection with medical documents.  Subsequent pages featured further colour photographs of the vehicle along with text describing its features.  The final inner page contained a colour photograph of a tropical beach and an offer to win a £100 holiday voucher if a test drive was booked.  Volkswagen argued that, when taken as a whole and in context, the booklet could not be seen as anything other than a marketing communication.

Volkswagen said the mock prescription form was attached to the back cover of the booklet with a paper clip.  They argued that, to look at either the booklet or the form more closely, the recipient would have to open the booklet, at least at the final page, and would immediately see a colour photograph of a beach scene.  They said the mock prescription form was presented in such a way that the recipient would immediately see the Volkswagen logo at the bottom right-hand corner and the words "Passat Highline Test-drive Take Once".  They said a pre-paid envelope addressed to Volkswagen Passenger Cars, which clearly identified the mailing as a promotional device, was attached to the booklet behind the mock prescription form.

2. Volkswagen believed the number of complaints received was small in proportion to the number of mailings that were sent out; they said that showed the overwhelming majority of recipients were not distressed.  They said the mailings tone and content were not shocking; they also argued that the maladies listed on the front of the booklet - stress, headaches, blood pressure, irritability, fatigue - were not life threatening and the mailing did not refer to any very serious medical conditions.

3. Volkswagen thought the mailing contained nothing that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.  However, they reiterated that they had nevertheless used specialist resources to filter the mailing list to screen out anyone who was at risk of being offended.

Assessment

1. & 2. Not upheld

The ASA considered that consumers were unlikely to expect confidential medical notes to be posted to patients and were therefore likely to be wary of anything they received in the post which resembled a doctor's notes or a prescription form.

We noted the question "HOW DOES YOUR DAILY COMMUTE MAKE YOU FEEL?" appeared on the outer envelope in large text that seemed to be handwritten; we considered the question seemed incongruous when juxtaposed with the reference to a patient and case number and was likely to alert recipients to the 'spoof' nature of the mailing.  Although we disagreed with Volkswagens argument that the Royal Mail POSTAGE PAID emblem and address label would make it clear this was marketing material, we did accept their argument that on closer inspection of the back of the outer envelope recipients would see the postal address of Volkswagen Passenger Cars and would be aware this was marketing material.

We also noted the Volkswagen logo appeared on the front and back of the booklet and considered that, when it was opened, it was immediately clear that it was a marketing communication.  We further noted and accepted Volkswagens argument that, to remove the prescription form from the booklet, the paper clip had been placed in such a way that the booklet would fall open revealing the back page with the holiday offer.

Although the pale green form resembled a prescription form in colour and lay-out, we noted the words "Passat Highline Test-drive Take Once" were quite prominent on the front of the form and the inside pages posed a series of questions about what the recipient wanted from a car.

We concluded that recipients would realise the mailing was a marketing communication imitating the appearance of medical notes and a prescription form and that, because it was clear that the mailing was a marketing communication, it was unlikely to cause undue anxiety and distress to recipients, including those undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment.

On points 1 and 2, we considered the ad under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 9.1 (Fear and distress) and 22.1 (Recognising marketing communications and identifying marketers) but did not find it in breach.

3. Not upheld

We considered that, although the mailing could cause anxiety or distress, those feelings would subside when the recipient realised the mailing was a marketing communication.  We considered that, although some recipients were likely to find the mailing tasteless, it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

On this point, we considered the ad under CAP Code clause 5.1 (Decency) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)