ASA Adjudication on Multimedia Computing Ltd

Ad

A sponsored link on an internet search website, for a company that issued deed polls, was headed "UK Deed Poll Service". Further text stated "www.deedpoll.org.uk (Official website) Advice about how to change your name by Deed Poll".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading, because he believed it implied the advertisers were an official government service.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

Response

UK Deed Poll Service (UKDPS) said that the company originally started trading on the internet in 2000 as Deed Polls Online but in 2002 changed its name to UK Deed Poll Service. They said that they had included UK in the company name to differentiate them from similar services provided to the public in other countries. They said that, at the time they started trading, they were not aware of any government departments or agencies with names including UK and Service, although some government agencies did have one or the other in their titles. They added that another company had recently registered the name UK Deed Poll Service at Companies House and did not appear to have had any issues raised about whether the name suggested that the company provided a government service.

UKDPS said that they were a recognised brand to many consumers who wished to change their name, and were the UKs longest established and most well-known company in their market sector. They provided a printout of the media page on their website which detailed coverage of the company in the media, including on various national broadcasters and in national newspapers. They added that they were recommended by most passport officers at the UK Identity and Passport Service, the DVLA and the Law Society. They said that, consequently, many consumers would be looking specifically for their company when they searched the internet for a deed poll provider.

UKDPS said that they used the words "Official website" in their advertising to differentiate it from other companies who had attempted to benefit from their reputation by using similar trading names, advertising headlines and website layouts. They said that was in line with many other companies and brands operating in other markets, and provided screenshots of internet search results from a range of companies and brands including car, clothing and beverage manufacturers, bands and football clubs, which used terminology such as "Official Site", "Official Website", "Official UK Site" and "Official Store" to mean the website of.

UKDPS said that if the use of the word official was generally understood by consumers to mean government, UK government websites would only need to use the word official in their Google listings, but instead they used terms such as "official UK government website" or "official British Government website". They added that they did not think other companies would use the term official if they thought that it meant government. They said that anyone who bought merchandise from, for example, football clubs or bands, would know that the term official merchandise does not mean that it is approved or issued by the government.

UKDPS said, if consumers did visit their website believing that it was a government service, there was ample opportunity to make an informed decision about who and what the company was. They said they had issued over 250,000 deed poll documents and had never had a complaint, or feedback from clients saying they thought they provided a government service.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted UKDPSs explanation that the use of the term "Official website" was intended to make it clear to consumers that the ad was genuinely for UKDPS rather than for any of their competitors, and their view that the word official did not necessarily equate to the word government. We considered the examples they gave demonstrated the importance of context to the interpretation of the word official, including the recognisability of the brand or company name and the consumers prior knowledge of the market or product. We acknowledged that, where consumers were specifically searching for UKDPS website, the inclusion of the words "Official website" would be interpreted to mean the website of UKDPS.

However, whilst we noted UKDPSs assertion that they were the most well-known company in their market sector and that most consumers would search specifically for them, we did not consider that the information they had provided constituted objective substantiation of their assertion, and we therefore considered the ad from the standpoint that most consumers who searched the internet for information about changing a name by deed poll would be unlikely to have much prior knowledge about how, or from whom, they could obtain one.

We considered that whilst the company name UK Deed Poll Service did not, in and of itself, suggest that it was a government service or agency, in conjunction with the words "Official website", the overall impression of the ad was likely to lead consumers to understand that the ad was for an official government service. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) clauses 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)