ASA Adjudication on JF Media Ltd

Ad

An online subscription form for Golfpunk magazine stated "Subscribe to GOLFPUNK and get get [sic] a dozen Srixon Trispeed golf balls ABSOLUTELY FREE!" Footnote text at the end of the subscription page stated "Very very Important Note: Gift offer is subject to availability and open to UK subscribers only. The gifts will be delivered separately after receipt of the first magazine."

Issue

Respondents, some of whom had subscribed in April 2009 but who had received no golf balls and either no or just one edition of the magazine, challenged whether the claim was misleading and could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Golf Punk said they intended to send the respondents the issues they had missed.  They said they would add two editions to both accounts and extend their subscriptions as a gesture of goodwill.

Golf Punk said there had been a backlog on the free gift orders.  They said they intended to contact subscribers to tell them when they could expect to receive their substitute gifts.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted that the ad stated that the gift offer was subject to availability but we reminded Golf Punk that that did not relieve them of the obligation to take all reasonable steps to avoid disappointing customers.  We were concerned that Golf Punk had not resolved the respondents' concerns when they had contacted Golf Punk direct and that they had not taken that opportunity to offer them refunds or substitute gifts.  We reminded Golf Punk that they needed to be able to demonstrate that they had ordered gifts in sufficient quantities to meet demand for them; that they had taken adequate steps to avoid disappointing customers and that they had conducted the promotion under proper supervision and with adequate resources so as to avoid giving respondents justifiable grounds for complaint.

Because they had not done so, we concluded that the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness), 16.4 (Availability), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules - introduction), 30.2 and 30.4 (Sales promotion rules - availability) and 31.1 (Sales promotion rules - administration).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Golf Punk that they should have sufficient gifts and administrative resources in place to satisfy demand when planning similar offers in future.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)