ASA Adjudication on ScS Upholstery plc

Ad

Two TV ads, for ScS Upholstery (ScS), showed Martin Kemp advertising sofas.

a. In the first ad, Martin Kemp said "... Fancy a bit of this for Christmas ..." while relaxing on a sofa.

b. In a second ad, he said "... There's over 200 styles to choose from and you can have any ScS sofa delivered for Christmas ...".

On-screen text in both ads stated "Christmas delivery storewide".

Issue

Four viewers, three of whom ordered a sofa in November and one of whom ordered a sofa in October, challenged whether the ads' references to Christmas delivery were misleading, because they did not receive their sofas in time for Christmas.

BCAP TV Code

Response

ScS apologised for the inconvenience some viewers experienced regarding the delivery of their sofas during the Christmas period. They explained that their whole business, working with their suppliers, had been structured to fulfil all orders in time for Christmas. They assured the ASA that during the time the ads were broadcast, in October and November, they were not aware of any potential problems regarding deliveries. However, in the middle of December, when the ads were no longer on air, they experienced logistical issues with their suppliers, which prevented some deliveries being made before Christmas; the problem mainly affected South and South-West England. Nevertheless, ScS stated that they had satisfactorily delivered over 98% of the sofas ordered before Christmas.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) said that, during pre-production stage, ScS had confirmed that orders placed before 27 November would be delivered in time for Christmas.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA acknowledged that some viewers were disappointed that the Christmas delivery claim in the ads was not honoured in their particular case. We noted ScS had systems in place to ensure Christmas delivery at the time the ads were aired but, at the last minute, because of unforeseen problems with one of their suppliers, a small proportion of their customers received their sofas after Christmas. We considered, however, that the ads were accurate when aired and that the Christmas delivery problem was out of ScS's control and not widespread.

We investigated the ads under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications) but did not find them in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)