ASA Adjudication on Cardell Media Ltd

Ad

A direct mailing consisted of what seemed to be a torn magazine or newspaper page with a handwritten Post-it note, which stated "Hi, I saw this and thought you'd find it useful - he's really good! J". The page arrived in a plain white envelope, which appeared to be addressed by hand, with a second class stamp attached.

The page was headed "BUSINESS & MARKETING November 2009 The Rebel Business Owners Defying the Economy to Become Millionaires". Text stated "Thousands of business owners who were struggling to get customers and grow their businesses, claim to have experienced dramatic turnarounds after turning to a man who has taken the UK Entrepreneurial world by storm. Some of the business owners have just experienced steady growth - but in many cases they've created million pound plus businesses and experienced increases in turnover of hundreds of per cent ... Chris Cardell has dedicated the last 20 years to growing the profits of small businesses and is widely recognized as one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field ... we tracked down several of the business owners he works with in his 'VIP Inner Circle' (310,000 UK business owners subscribe to his free online Marketing tips) and the results were not short of staggering ... Gill's life has been transformed by Chris Cardell and her one thousand per cent increase in turnover - and it turns out she's not alone. 'By implementing some of Chris' ideas, we increased revenue within the last 12 months from £450,000 to £600,000' says David Morris of Presto Development ... 'our profit has risen by almost 75% by implementing the ideas that Chris Cardell introduced us to ...'. The text cut off abruptly at the end of the page. Below it, text stated "(Continued on Section A Page 2)". On the reverse, text stated "(Continued from Section A Page 1)". The text continued with further stories of people - "Catriona Nason", "Archie Mundegar" and "Celia Gates" - who had benefitted from increases in turnover, and stated " ... When I started researching this article I was curious to see if it really was possible for so many owners of normal businesses to become so successful and profitable - so fast. Having spoken to dozens of people achieving stunning results, it's clear that Chris Cardell is transforming the lives of thousands of UK business owners ...".

A photograph of two men was in the centre of the first page. It was captioned "Chris Cardell, Britain's leading expert on Entrepreneurial Success, with Duncan Bannatyne from BBC TV's Dragons Den. In June 2009, 500 of Chris's VIP Inner Circle members joined Chris and some of the world's leading business experts at Chris Cardell's 3-day Entrepreneur Summit in London ...".

Issue

The complainant thought the ad was misleading, because:

1. it did not make clear that it was a marketing communication;

2. the claims about the success experienced by business owners could not be substantiated;

3. the photograph implied Duncan Bannatyne endorsed the service offered by Chris Cardell.

CAP Code

Response

1. Cardell Media did not comment specifically on this point.

2. Cardell Media provided a recording of a seminar in which Chris Cardell spoke about his work, and callers named Gill Merritt and David Morris made claims about the success of their respective businesses as a result of using Chris Cardell's methods and marketing strategies.  Cardell Media also submitted the results of web searches on Gill Merritt's business, Archer Safety Signs, and David Morris's business, Presto Music, to demonstrate that they were active companies.

3. Cardell Media argued that any complaint that the photograph implied Duncan Bannatyne endorsed the service offered by Chris Cardell should properly originate from Duncan Bannatyne himself.  They believed it was not the Code's intention to confer on the public at large the right to complain about how another person had been featured.

They argued that Duncan Bannatyne had participated at events hosted by them and they should be able to refer to that in their advertising, but in future they would do so in a manner that did not imply an endorsement.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the mailing's "BUSINESS & MARKETING November 2009" heading, the Post-it note which seemed to be handwritten, the "Continued on Section A Page 2" and "Continued from Section A Page 1" notes, and the absence of a company name, logo or contact details.  We also noted the mailing arrived in a plain envelope that appeared to be addressed by hand, with a second class stamp attached.  Furthermore, we considered that the text "When I started researching this article I was curious to see if it really was possible for so many owners of normal businesses to become so successful and profitable - so fast.  Having spoken to dozens of people achieving stunning results, it's clear that Chris Cardell is transforming the lives of thousands of UK business owners" misleadingly suggested that a journalist, or someone independent of the advertisers, had written the piece.  We concluded that the material was designed and presented in such a way that suggested it was an article torn out of a magazine or newspaper, and did not make clear it was a marketing communication, which was misleading.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 22.1 (Recognising marketing communications and identifying marketers).

2. Upheld

We noted the recording of the seminar contained claims, which were replicated in the mailing, by Gill Merritt and David Morris about the success of their respective businesses.  However, the mailing referred to David Morris's company as "Presto Development", whereas the recording of the seminar referred to it as "Presto Music".  Moreover, the Code stated that testimonials alone did not constitute substantiation and the opinions expressed in them must be supported, where necessary, with independent evidence of their accuracy.  We considered that the seminar recording was itself a testimonial and did not constitute independent evidence that the claims about the success experienced by business owners were accurate.  Because we had seen no documentary evidence, for example audited company accounts, proving that the turnover and profit of Archer Signs and Presto Development rose at the rates stated in the mailing, and tracing those increases to the implementation of Chris Cardell's ideas, we concluded that the claims had not been adequately substantiated.

We noted Cardell Media had sent information relating only to Gill Merritt and David Morris, but the mailing also contained testimonials by other business owners; their claims had not been substantiated.

In addition, we had seen no documentary evidence to substantiate the claim that thousands of struggling business owners had experienced dramatic turnarounds and, in many cases, had created million pound plus businesses and experienced increases in turnover of hundreds of per cent thanks to Chris Cardell.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clause 3.1 (Substantiation).

3. Not upheld

We disagreed with Cardell Media that any complaint about an ad implying a person's approval of an advertised product should be dismissed unless it originated from the person portrayed.  We considered it was reasonable for a member of the public to bring a breach or potential breach of the Code clause on this issue to our attention, particularly since the person in question might not be aware that he or she was being portrayed in an ad.

However, we noted the ad did not include a quote from Duncan Bannatyne and, apart from the photograph and caption, there were no other references to Duncan Bannatyne in the ad, which focused on Chris Cardell and his clients.  We considered that readers were likely to infer merely that Chris Cardell and Duncan Bannatyne had appeared at the same event and had been photographed together, not that Duncan Bannatyne endorsed the service offered by Chris Cardell.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clause 13.1c (Protection of privacy) but did not find it in breach.

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Cardell Media to ensure future marketing communications were designed and presented in such a way that it was clear they were marketing communications, and to ensure they held independent documentary evidence to substantiate claims, including those in testimonials, in future.  We advised them to contact the CAP Copy Advice team for help in amending the mailing.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)