Ad description
A TV ad, for a mail order snack service, showed an open box with four compartments, each of which was shown being repeatedly filled with various types of snacks.
Issue
The complainant, who had ordered the product, challenged whether the ad was misleading, because he felt it significantly exaggerated the quantity of snacks that were sent.
Response
Graze.com (Graze) said that they had been diligent in ensuring that representative quantities of their products had been shown. They told us they had filled each punnet with the actual quantity of product that consumers would receive and that they had then carefully positioned the contents to give viewers the best chance of seeing the food, for example, one of the fingers of flapjack had been rested on top of the other two which meant it stood proud of the punnet. They told us that punnets that were sent to customers were sealed and that that flattened the contents, which they felt may explain the complaint. They said the ad had been broadcast since December 2011 and that they had not received any other complaints.
Clearcast endorsed Graze's response and said they did not feel the ad was misleading.
Assessment
Not upheld
Whilst the ASA acknowledged the complainant felt that the ad exaggerated the quantity of snacks contained in a Graze box, we noted that the quantities shown had been measured to ensure they were representative of what consumers would receive. Although, we accepted that the contents of the punnets had been arranged to make them more visible and that that meant they protruded out of the punnets in some shots, when we examined a Graze box, as it was received, we did not consider that the ad significantly exaggerated the quantity of snacks it contained. We therefore concluded that the ad was not misleading.
We investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. Misleading advertising) and 3.12 3.12 Advertisements must not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service. (Exaggeration) but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
