ASA Adjudication on kgb (UK) Ltd
kgb (UK) Ltd
Sterling House
Malthouse Avenue
Cardiff Gate Business Centre
Cardiff
CF23 8RA
Date:
20 June 2012
Media:
Internet (sales promotion)
Sector:
Leisure
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A12-193658
Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad
Ads for sunglasses on www.kgbdeals.co.uk:
Ad (a) was headed "Men's designer Oakleys Brand Arena Limited £49 value: £230 discount: 79%". Further text stated "£49 for men's designer Oakley sunglasses from BrandArena worth up to £230 - save up to 79% on one of five of this season's hottest styles".
Ad (b) was headed "Ladies designer sunglasses Brand Arena £39 Value: £130 discount: 70%". Further text stated "£39 for a pair of ladies sunglasses worth up to £130 from Brand Arena - save up to 70%, and choose between Oakley, Missoni or Vivienne Westwood!".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the savings claim in ad (a) could be substantiated; and
2. the savings claim in ad (b) could be substantiated.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
1. & 2. kgb (UK) Ltd (kgbdeals) said the value and savings claims made in the ads were based on the maximum recommended retail price (RRP) for the products provided to them by Brand Arena. They said the merchant on behalf of whom they advertised the products was not able to confirm that the sunglasses had been sold for the higher prices claimed in the ad. They provided links to various web pages which they said showed the value of the products quoted in the ad was accurate. They believed the advertised offers provided customers with a substantial saving over the price at which the advertised sunglasses were generally available.
Assessment
1. Upheld
We noted the ad stated the men's sunglasses on offer were worth up to £230, and considered consumers would therefore expect that some of the products were usually sold at this price. We noted kgbdeals said Brand Arena had not been able to confirm to them that any of the sunglasses had been sold by them for £230. The links provided by kgbdeals were to another online eyewear retailer selling Oakley sunglasses and the web pages showed the RRP of some of the sunglasses as over £230. However, all the sunglasses were being sold at discounted prices of less than £230. We did not consider that kgbdeals had provided evidence that any of the products were usually sold for £230. We concluded that, because kgbdeals had not substantiated the savings claim, the offer was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.17 (Prices).
2. Upheld
We noted the ad stated the ladies' sunglasses on offer were worth up to £130, and considered consumers would therefore expect that some of the products were usually sold at this price. We noted kgbdeals said Brand Arena had not been able to confirm to them that any of the sunglasses had been sold by them for £130. Two of the links provided by kgbdeals were to another online eyewear retailer selling Oakley sunglasses and the web pages showed the RRP of some of the sunglasses as over £130. However, all the sunglasses were being sold at discounted prices of less than £130. Two other links provided by kgbdeals were to listings by Brand Arena on a large internet retailer's website, and the price given for one of the pairs of sunglasses was over £130. However, the date on which the products were listed post-dated the ad appearing on kgbdeals website, and we did not consider that listings on a retail website were sufficient evidence that the products were usually sold at that price. We did not consider that kgbdeals had provided evidence that any of the products were usually sold for £130. We concluded that, because kgbdeals had not substantiated the savings claim, the offer was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.17 (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told kgbdeals to ensure they held robust evidence for savings claims when advertising offers.
