ASA Adjudication on Kushiara Financial Services Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for a financial services company, was broadcast on ATN Bangla. The voice-over stated "Today's currency rate from Kushiara Financial Services Ltd". On-screen text stated "Kushiara Financial Services Ltd. Todays [sic] Currency Rate TAKA RATE 101.40 USD RATE 68.95 EURO RATE 96.60".

Issue

Three viewers believed the ad was misleading because, when they contacted the advertiser on the same day the ad was broadcast, they were offered a lower Taka exchange rate of £1 sterling = 100 BDT.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Kushiara Financial Services Ltd (Kushiara) acknowledged the complaint.

ATN Bangla confirmed that the currency rate quoted in the ad was the same as that offered at the time by Kushiara. They said currency rates were subject to minor variations and exchange rates varied between one or two Taka, which was equivalent to one or two pence, but anything less than five pence was usually estimated and subject to fluctuation. They said they were concerned that this was not explained to them by Kushiara at the time. ATN Bangla said they were no longer broadcasting the ad.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA understood that exchange rates were subject to fluctuation but, because we had not received any substantiation to show that the exchange rate quoted in the ad was available as claimed, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead viewers.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.1 (Evidence).

Action

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told Kushiara and ATN Bangla to ensure that any exchange rate quoted in future similar ads was available at the time the ad was broadcast.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)