ASA Adjudication on Marie de Fortune

Ad

A direct mailing, from Marie de Fortune, was sent in an envelope that stated "IMPORTANT: what you decide in the next 5 minutes will determine your FUTURE!!!" The letter, which was personally addressed to the recipient, stated that Marie de Fortune had read the recipient's file and "had to act after hearing about your difficult, indeed, dramatic, situation. As I was carefully studying your file, I immediately saw that you needed some fast and effective help, particularly in the financial field". The mailing claimed that "IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS I will send you a CHEQUE. It will give you some immediate help but that's only for starters … (and if I may remind you, the amount of the biggest of the Great Gift Cash Cheques is an incredible £10,000)". The mailing also claimed that a second gift would be sent called the "Ring of Active Luck and Thousands of Cash Wins" which would bring financial luck to the wearer. The letter stated that "It was precisely this ring that the Spanish conquistadors were wearing when they discovered South America … it was my grandmother who gave it to me and told me all about its secret power … She had received it from a Spanish millionaire … the legendary ring of power that automatically eliminates all financial problems, that protects you from money problems in the future, that multiplies your income and your money wins by ten." Further text stated "Your bank account will very quickly be in the black again - with very big sums …" The mailing contained a sample of a cheque for £10,000 made out to the recipient. The accompanying form required the recipient to send a payment of £27 to cover the administration and postage and packing costs for the cheque and ring to be sent. The recipient also had the option of paying another £3 for the request to be given top priority. A footnote at the end of the mailing provided the terms and conditions for a prize draw and stated "CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION … THE WINNER IS THE CLIENT WHO RETURNS THE COMPLETED FORM BEFORE THE DEADLINE AND WHOSE FORM IS THEN THE WINNER OF THE DRAW. NO CLIENT HAS WON THE MAIN PRIZE BEFOREHAND. THE CONTEST HAS NO DIRECT LINK WITH THE OFFER MADE BY MARIE DE FORTUNE … EVERYONE IS FREE TO BELIEVE IN THE SUPERNATURAL OR NOT".

Issue

1.  The complainant, who did not believe the claims made, challenged whether the mailing was irresponsible and could mislead and exploit vulnerable recipients.

The ASA challenged whether the:

2.  claims could be substantiated; and

3.  mailing made clear that it was inviting entry into a prize draw and whether it failed to include the significant conditions for the draw.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Marie de Fortune did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by Marie de Fortune's 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 obligations under the Code and told them to respond promptly in future.

1. & 2. Upheld

We noted that the mailing claimed "IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS I will send you a CHEQUE", and included a sample of a cheque made out to the recipient for £10,000.  We also noted the accompanying form required the recipient to send a payment of £27 or £30 to cover the administration and postage and packing costs for the cheque and ring to be sent.  We considered that the mailing implied that recipients would definitely receive a cheque for £10,000.  We doubted that this was the case and considered that, as we had not seen evidence to support the claims, the mailing was misleading.  We also noted that the CAP Help Note on the Marketing of Spiritual and Psychic Services, Astrologers and Lucky Charms stated that marketing communications for lucky charms should not imply that those products could definitely affect a user's circumstances.  We noted that the mailing had claimed that the recipient would definitely find their financial situation improving as a result of wearing the lucky ring.  We noted that there was no evidence to support that claim and considered that it was misleading.  We concluded that, because the mailing made references to the recipient's financial state of affairs, and promised to remedy those problems, the mailing was irresponsible and likely to mislead and exploit vulnerable recipients.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising), 3.1 (Substantiation), 6.1 (Honesty) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

3. Upheld

We considered that it was not clear that the mailing offered an invitation to a prize draw.  We also considered that the significant terms and conditions of the prize draw, such as the opening and closing date of the competition and the precise nature of any prizes, had either not been included or not been specified clearly.  We noted that the footnote contradicted the claims in the body of the letter that the recipient would definitely receive a cheque in the next few days and concluded that the mailing was misleading.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules), 34.1 (Significant conditions for promotions), 35.1 and 35.9 (Other rules for prize promotions).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Marie de Fortune to withdraw the mailing and asked CAP to advise its media members of the problem with Marie de Fortune.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)