Ad description
A teleshopping presentation on Price Drop TV for three gold pendants included claims such as, "A solid gold chain. On that solid gold chain is a solid 9ct gold heart pendant", "When it comes to gold in a lot of stores, even your pawnbrokers, you will see a selection of chains, you will be charged the gold value for that chain and then you may have to pay separately for the pendant. You're getting them both. Under £60? Really? That's ridiculous", "And right now you cannot move on the high street for pawn brokers. They're back, why, because they're asking for your gold. Why are they doing that, ask yourself that question right now. If you go into a search engine, 'value of gold' and see what the prices are. Also, think of when you've been in a store. Can you get solid 9ct gold chain, that's the chain as well, plus the heart shaped pendant for that price", "Let's be honest with you right now, I cannot pull the wool over your eyes, you know when you go into a jewellers how much you expect to pay. You know when you go into a pawnbrokers how much you'd get and that could be second hand jewellery", "Made of solid 9ct gold ... the chain again, solid 9ct gold", "You've got to know there's a bargain when there's a bargain to be had. That is brilliant value for money" and "This is £39.99. The value of gold (images start) is there for all to see. You can't move in your high street for shops asking for gold. Pawnbrokers are doing a massive record turnover, and the question is this. Could you walk into your high street and get a solid 9ct gold neck chain and the star pendant that we're giving you now, for a combined price of £40. That is amazing."
Issue
The complainant, who believed it should have included the weight of the pendants, challenged whether the ad was misleading.
Response
sit-up Ltd t/a Price Drop TV (sit-up Ltd) said the three products offered in the presentation were all made of solid 9 ct gold and came with solid 9 ct gold chains. They said the weight of the items was 0.78 g, 0.9 g and 1.13 g. They said that during the presentation the host did not give the price of gold, nor was he aware of its value in the market before the show. However, the host and producer had been aware that the price of gold fluctuates frequently and is influenced by many factors and for those reasons the price of gold should not be referred to on air. They said that the host's comment that, "I can't believe you are getting gold for this price" was an arbitrary one that was made in error and would not be repeated.
Assessment
Upheld
The presenter in the ad made a large number of references to the solid gold nature of the items, to pawn shops, the "value" of gold and descriptions of the items as "brilliant value". The ASA considered that, in that context, the weight of the items was material information that consumers needed to be made aware of before they could decide whether or not to purchase. We therefore concluded that without this qualification the ad was misleading.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.2
3.2
Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that consumers need in context to make informed decisions about whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead consumers depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the advertisement is constrained by time or space, the measures that the advertiser takes to make that information available to consumers by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and
3.10
3.10
Advertisements must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told sit-up Ltd to ensure that material information was included in ads.
