Ad description
The website www.jessops.com included the text "MEGA DEALS SAVE UP TO 50%", with a link that read "VIEW DEALS".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading, because he clicked the link but found none of the products had 50% off.
Response
The Jessop Group Ltd (Jessops) said they had offered a Fuji AX550 for £49.95. They said that camera was reduced from £99.95, which was the price of the camera for several months previously. Jessops said the discount for that particular product was referred to on their website as a monetary saving of £50, instead of as 50%, and that might have caused confusion. They apologised for that and said they would typically market such a saving in order to highlight to consumers the extent of the discount available. They provided data from their sales system related to the current and previous price of the Fuji AX550 as well as to the other items that were included in the promotion. They believed they were a reliable and responsible retailer and said they had introduced additional checks and balances since the ASA had contacted them, to avoid similar situations from arising in future.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the evidence submitted by Jessops, which indicated that 12 items were included in the promotion and that one item had a 50% reduction. We noted, however, that another item appeared to have increased in price and that the discounts on the remaining products, one of which was based on a cash back offer rather than a direct saving, ranged between 7% and 31% off the immediately previous selling prices. We acknowledged that the advertised discount was "up to 50%" but considered that at least 10% of products should generally be available with the advertised saving, in this case 50%, where an "up to" claim was made. Because that was not the case, we 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), 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) and 3.17 3.17 Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication. and 3.22 3.22 Price claims such as "up to" and "from" must not exaggerate the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Jessops to ensure that advertised "up to" savings did not in future exaggerate the benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. We also told them to ensure they were in a position to substantiate such savings claims.
