ASA Adjudication on eHarmony UK Ltd

Ad

Two TV ads for the online dating site eHarmony.co.uk: a. The ad showed images of eight couples in various locations and on-screen text detailed their names and the date on which they were "matched" through the site. The voice-over said "It's no surprise that over four million Americans get married each year. But what might surprise you, is that 2% of those newlyweds said they met on eHarmony. And now we're in the UK. eHarmony is more than just a dating site, it's a relationship site where we match you on the deepest dimensions of compatibility, like character, intellect and values. If you're serious about finding love, go to eHarmony.co.uk and review your matches for free." b. The ad showed a man playing alone with a football on an urban street. The same man was then shown smiling as he enjoyed dinner with a woman. The ad showed five other couples and on-screen text detailed their names and the date on which they were "matched" through the site. The voice-over said "If you're single and looking for fun, you could try internet dating sites. But if you're looking for something more meaningful, try eHarmony, the relationship site. It's already worked in America, where 2% of all newlyweds said they met on eHarmony. And now we're in the UK. At eHarmony we don't match you on a picture and paragraph; we match you on the deepest dimensions of compatibility, like intellect and values. Get started at Eharmony.co.uk today and review all your matches for free."

Issue

1. Five viewers challenged whether the advertisers could substantiate the claim "It's no surprise that over four million Americans get married each year. But what might surprise you, is that 2% of those newlyweds said that they met on eHarmony"; and

2. three viewers, who had attempted to use the service, challenged whether the ad was misleading because it did not make it clear that there were significant conditions attached to obtaining the free matches.

BCAP TV Code

Response

1. eHarmony UK Ltd (eHarmony) said that the 2% statistic was obtained from a study commissioned through a leading global custom market research firm.  They said that over 1.5 million of online Americans aged between 20 and 54 years married in 2007 and their research suggested over 43,000 of those couples had met through eHarmony.

They said that the market research firm had worked with a commercial sampling business to administer an online survey which resulted in a response of over 7,000 people who were considered to be representative of the online population.  They said that 2.57% of this test group had said they had married in the previous 12 months and had met their partner through eHarmony. They said weighting techniques could be used against the known total figure of all marriages in the US, to establish the 2% statistic quoted in the ad.

2. eHarmony said their model was based on constructing a user profile based on responses to 258 questions which attempted to understand the users personality using numerous dimensions.  They said the service then checked for compatibility against other users and that individuals could control the number and type of suggested matches they received.  They said that the only eligibility restrictions at the outset were requirements that users were over 18 years of age and that they were not presently married.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the statistics were obtained by established independent market research and acknowledged that, if the results of the online survey were extrapolated to the whole American population, the evidence seemed to show  that 2% of American couples who had married in 2007 were likely to have  met through eHarmony.  However, we considered that the claim "It's no surprise that over four million Americans get married each year.  But what might surprise you is that 2% of those Americans said they met on eHarmony" implied a definitive figure of marriages between people who met via eHarmony in the past year, not an estimate based on an online survey of 20- to 54-year-olds in 2007.  We considered that an estimate was not sufficient to substantiate the absolute claim "2% of those Americans said they met on eHarmony."  We concluded that the ads were likely to mislead.

On this point the ads breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code Rules 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.1 and 5.2.3 (Misleading advertising).

2. Upheld

The ASA monitored the eHarmony site and completed the 258 multiple choice questions needed to complete a registration profile.  We found that, in some circumstances the website stated that it would be unable to match the registrants profile with any other users and that they were unable to provide a service. We noted the website stated that this occurred in 20% of cases.  We considered that, because the answers to the compulsory multiple choice questions could result in a profile for which no free matches were offered and the service was not provided, the ads were likely to mislead by omitting to make that clear.

On this point the ads breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Code Rules 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.1 and 5.2.3 (Misleading advertising).

Action

The ads should not appear again in their current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)