Ad description
An ad for The Royal Purfleet hotel, on www.laterooms.com, featured a number of images of the interior of the hotel.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the images were misleading, because she believed the images were not representative of the hotel's fixtures and fittings.
Response
MLVH Ltd t/a The Royal Purfleet said fixtures and fittings were sometimes moved to accommodate the business, but the majority of the fixtures and fittings featured in the images remained in place. They believed the images accurately reflected the current general state of repair of the hotel. They provided current photographs of the hotel for the ASA to compare with the images on the website.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA compared the images in the ad with the photos provided by the hotel. We considered consumers would understand that the images in the ad would reflect the hotel in the best possible light, but noted that the images should not be materially misleading as to the quality or state of repair of the hotel. We noted there were a few differences in the fixtures and fittings between the two sets of images, but the majority of them appeared to be the same and in a similar state of repair as shown in the ad. We concluded the images in the ad were representative of the hotel's fixtures and fittings and were unlikely to mislead consumers as to the quality or state of repair of the hotel.
We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer 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 the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
