Ad description
A TV ad for Disney Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique featured a young girl sitting at a dressing table smiling into a mirror. The next scene showed the girl with face paint on and placing a tiara on her head. She was then shown standing in an elaborately decorated hall twirling around in a princess costume.
During the ad, the on-screen text stated "ONCE UPON A TIME A FAIRY GODMOTHER WAVED HER WAND AND MADE A DREAM COME TRUE. NOW, A MAGICAL JOURNEY AWAITS YOU. INTRODUCING DISNEY BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE AT HARRODS". Towards the end of the ad the small print was shown at the bottom of the screen, stating "Prices from £50. Ages 3-12".
Issue
Two complainants challenged whether the claim "Prices from £50" was misleading. They felt that the ad implied that the experience shown in the ad was available at this price but understood that it cost £200.
Response
Clearcast stated that they wanted the ad to be clearly representative of the experience a child might have if they visited the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Clearcast understood that prices varied and started at £50 and went up to £200, and considered it was necessary for the super "Prices from £50" to be added. This they considered made it clear that the boutique was relatively expensive to visit. However, they were told that all children had the opportunity to dress in costume, have their hair styled and photos taken on a set similar to the one shown in the ad. Therefore, for that reason they considered the ad only needed to include the "from" price.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that the ad was marketing Disney’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which predominately offered princess themed experiences for young girls. We understood that there were five different experiences in total to choose from: “Royal”, “Castle”, “Crown”, “Courtyard” and “Knight”, which varied in price. The “Knight” experience was the cheapest, costing £50 while the princess themed experiences retailed between £100 and £1000.
We considered that the ad would be regarded as marketing the princess themed experiences, having only featured a young girl wearing a princess costume and a tiara who appeared to be in palatial surroundings. We considered that the on-screen text implied that the prices for these experiences started at £50 and, because this was not the case, we concluded that 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.
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),
3.10
3.10
Advertisements must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification) and
3.18
3.18
Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product or service depicted in the advertisement.
(Prices)
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told The Disney Store Ltd that their future advertising must not state or suggest that their princess themed experiences at the Disney Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique started from £50.
