Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
An ad for a live music night appearing on the Facebook page of one of the acts featured stated "FRIDAY 6TH FEBRUARY LIVE MUSIC NIGHT VENUES POSSIBLE 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY ... CHILDREN WELCOME UNTIL 23:00HRS DOORS 8PM - 3AM FLAVA Bar + Club".
Issue
The complainant, who was under 18, challenged whether the ad was misleading because:
1. they were initially refused entry into the venue before the stated time of "23:00HRS";
2. upon entry they were only able to access a small area in the venue, which was not mentioned in the ad; and
3. they were asked to leave the venue before 11pm, contrary to the claim in the ad that under-18s would have access to the event until that time.
Response
Flava Bar Ltd did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Flava Bar's lack of substantive response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
1.− 3. Upheld
We understood that the complainant was initially refused entry into the event upon arrival after the advertised opening time, on the basis of an age limit, and was then permitted entry as an exception, with restricted access and partially obscured view of the stage. We also understood that the complainant was then asked to leave the venue before the advertised closing time.
We considered that consumers were likely to expect from the ad, in particular the claim "children welcome until 23:00 hrs” that those who were under 18 years old would be able to enter the event from opening time, which was 8 pm, and remain in the venue until 11 pm. However, we had not received details of Flava Bar's general venue entrance policy or other evidence that demonstrated they permitted the attendance of people under 18 years of age until 11 pm.
We further noted that the ad did not contain information indicating that attendees under a certain age limit would have restricted access inside the venue with partially obscured views of the stage area. This was material information that should have been made clear in the ad, as it was likely to affect consumers' decision as to whether or not to attend the event.
Given that we had not seen any evidence that supported the clam "children welcome until 23:00 hrs" and that the ad did not specify that customers under an age limit would have restricted access and partial views of the stage, which we considered to be material information, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached 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),
3.7
3.7
Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.
(Substantiation) and
3.9
3.9
Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification).
Action
The ad must not appear in its current form again. We told Flava Bar Ltd to ensure that future ads did not imply children would be allowed entry into the event until a certain time if that was not the case. We also told Flava Bar Ltd to ensure material information, such as restricted access for attendees under an age limit with partial view of the stage, was included in the ad.
