Ad description

On a website ad for a property management company on 24 August 2011, the text stated "We are currently selling an average of 1 property every two hours, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

Fresh Start Living Ltd (Fresh Start Living) sent the ASA a screenshot of their logging database that recorded dates of exchange and maintained that they had sold 360 units in June 2011. They believed that the screenshot substantiated the claim.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted that the screen shot of the logging database showed seven individual exchanges only, and a series of numbers in brackets beside a few specific dates in June that added up to 360. We noted that we had not seen documentary evidence that demonstrated that the sales claims for each of the dates were genuine. We therefore considered that the claim had not been substantiated, and concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules  3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.  (Misleading advertising) and  3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.  (Substantiation).

Action

The claim must not appear again in its current form.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.1     3.7    


More on