Ad description
A prize promotion on Twitter to win a Kindle. The tweet stated "@mojocomms Follow for a fab #kindle # comp giveaway!!!".
Issue
The Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM) on behalf of the winner, who had not received the Kindle, challenged whether the promotion had been conducted fairly.
Response
Bev Morley said they intended to award the prize and provided a deadline to the ASA.
Assessment
Upheld
We noted that the complainant had responded to the competition tweet as requested by following the advertiser on Twitter. The advertiser had subsequently tweeted again to confirm that the complainant had won. We were concerned however that no information was given in the competition tweet about the terms and conditions of the competition or where the terms and conditions could be found; for example by including a short URL.
The CAP Code required that prize promotions must specify before or at the time of entry the date by which prizewinners would receive their prizes, if that would be more than 30 days after the closing date. In the absence of a date by which the prize would be awarded we considered that the advertiser should have awarded the Kindle within 30 days. We noted that the complainant had not received the prize within that timeframe and that the advertiser had subsequently told us that the complainant would need to wait up to eight months from the end of the competition before they received it. We understood that it had not been delivered within that time either.
Because we understood that the complainant had won the competition and not been awarded their prize within 30 days, or subsequently, we concluded that the promotion had not been conducted fairly.
The prize promotion breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. (Sales promotions), 8.27 8.27 Withholding prizes (see rules 8.15.1 and 8.28 8.28 Participants must be able to retain conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion. In addition to rule 8.17, prize promotions must specify on all marketing communications or other material referring to them, the following information, clearly before or at the time of entry, where the omission of any of the specified items is likely to mislead. 2) is justified only if participants have not met the qualifying criteria set out clearly in the rules of the promotion. and 8.28 8.28 Participants must be able to retain conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion. In addition to rule 8.17, prize promotions must specify on all marketing communications or other material referring to them, the following information, clearly before or at the time of entry, where the omission of any of the specified items is likely to mislead. 3 (Prize Promotions).
Action
We told Bev Morley to promptly award the prize to the complainant and to ensure that future competitions were conducted fairly.
