Upheld

The ASA was concerned by E&N Textiles’ lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.

We noted the mailing included the text “Registered Company Number 07468711 (commercial collections)”, “...Your unwanted items are re-used or recycled, they are fairly traded for profit ...” and “... Air Ambulance Service is not associated with any local helicopter emergency medical services ...”. We considered, however, the overall impression of the mailing, in particular the repetition of the web address www.airambulanceservice.org.uk, the use of helicopter images and logos and the text “We collect, sort, grade & transport your textiles to Third World Countries & UK Shops ...”, “... many other people will also benefit because of your generosity ...” and “We are working towards providing financial assistance to cover or reduce the cost of ground and air ambulance medical transportation for patients caught in difficult medical circumstances”, was such that recipients were likely to interpret it as suggesting that at least a proportion of the funds raised from the clothing collection would be donated to official air ambulance services. We considered the qualifying text contradicted the overall impression of the mailing and was insufficient to clarify that E&N Textiles were not raising money on behalf of official air ambulance services. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.7 (Unreasonable delay), 2.3 (Recognition of marketing communications), 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising) and 3.9 (Qualification).