ASA Adjudication on Mirpur Cultural Society

Ad

A leaflet distributed by the Mirpur Cultural Society was headlined "UNWANTED CLOTHES". Beneath the headline smaller text stated "COLLECTION BY M.C.S MOBILE: 07811 XXX XXX". A panel contained the text "WARNING PEOPLE ARE OPERATING ILLEGALLY IN THIS AREA. DO NOT DONATE IF YOUR LEAFLET HAS NO TELEPHONE NUMBER AND NO ADDRESS". The body copy stated "DEAR SIR / MADAM We wish you a good health We appeal to you to give your unwanted clothes, shoes & toys ... your donation will help us to help the needy in Kashmir, Pakistan and other parts of the world. THANK YOU ... " At the bottom of the page another panel contained the text "FOR CASH DONATIONS" and provided an account number and the sort code details for an account at the Islamic Bank of Britain. The address of the Mirpur Cultural Society was listed at the bottom of the page.

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the leaflet misleadingly implied the Mirpur Cultural Society was a charity.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

The Mirpur Cultural Society did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.  

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by the Mirpur Cultural Society's (MCS) lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 2.6 (Non-response). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries.

We considered that the claims "Your donation will help us to help the needy", and "FOR CASH DONATIONS ... " implied MCS was a charity. Because they did not send evidence to show that they were a charity, we concluded the leaflet was misleading.  

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.6 (Non response), 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 37.1 (Charity linked promotions).  

Action

We told MCS not to use wording that suggested the organisation had charitable status unless that was the case.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)