Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A national press ad and website for the National Geographic Society’s books ‘Our Mathematical World’, seen on 1 January 2017:
a. The press ad stated “Discover how mathematics is all around us! We find it in the proportions of the most famous paintings in history, in the patterns of the big cats, in the structure of galaxies… Discover all this and more with this remarkable collection. A new and informative way to look at how mathematics shapes everything at the heart of our lives - from our everyday life to the transcendental. Issue 1 Only £1.99”. The ad included an image that featured a row of several of Our Mathematical World’s books.
b. The website www.ourmathematicalworld.co.uk, stated “Issue 1 comes at the special price of £1.99” alongside the link “SEE OFFER”. When the “SEE OFFER” link was clicked, the ad stated “ADVANTAGES OF BEING A SUBSCRIBER … Issue 2 only £5.99”. The ad also included the link “Download brochure” which stated on its last page “ISSUE 2 ONLY £5.99 … Regular price £8.99”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether ad (a) was misleading because it did not:
1. state the cost of subsequent issues; and
2. make clear the number of issues in the collection.
3. The complainant also challenged whether ad (b) was misleading because it did not state the cost of subsequent issues.
Response
National Geographic Society t/a www.ourmathematicalworld.co.uk did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The ASA was concerned by National Geographic Society’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in the future.
The ASA considered that consumers were likely to understand from the use of the wording “collection” and “Issue 1 Only £1.99” along with the image of several of the publications in ad (a), 21 in total, to mean that there was a number of products to collect in order to obtain the full set of Our Mathematical World. We therefore considered that a consumer’s decision to buy Issue 1 and subsequent issues would be influenced by their understanding of the costs involved in completing the full set of books. We noted the image of the publications and considered that consumers were likely to understand that it was illustrative of the collection of books available.
We noted that ad (a) stated the price of issue 1 which was prefixed with the word “only” and we considered that consumers were likely to understand the first issue was at a promotional price, and that subsequent issues might have a different price which was likely to be higher than the introductory cost. However, we noted that ad (a) made no reference to the price of additional issues. We also noted that although the image of the collection conveyed that subsequent issues were available, it omitted to state the actual number of books available.
We considered that the cost and number of issues was material information necessary for consumers to make an informed decision in relation to the product. However, that information was omitted from ad (a), and we considered that omission was likely to affect a consumer’s decision as to whether to make a purchase. For those reasons we concluded ad (a) was misleading.
On these points, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
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.
3.4
3.4
For marketing communications that quote prices for advertised products, material information [for the purposes of rule 3.3] includes:
and
3.4.3
3.4.3
the price of the advertised product, including taxes, or, if the nature of the product is such that the price cannot be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated
(Misleading advertising) and
3.17
3.17
Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication.
(Prices).
3. Upheld
We noted that ad (b) included the wording “Issue 1 comes at the special price of £1.99” and “SEE OFFER”. We therefore considered that consumers would understand that subsequent issues would be available at a higher price. Furthermore, we noted that when the “SEE OFFER” link was clicked consumers were directed further down the web page to additional information under the heading “ADVANTAGES OF BEING A SUBSCRIBER” and we considered that this heading was likely to be understood to mean that certain advantages would be available if they subscribed to the publication, which may have included preferential pricing. Under the reference to the subscription, we noted that ad (b) stated “Issue 2 only £5.99” and we considered that consumers were likely to understand that to refer to an exclusive cost for subscribers only. However, we noted that ad (b) included no additional pricing information about future issues or prices for non-subscribers.
We noted that ad (b) included a link to download a brochure. However, it was not clear from the ad what information would be provided in the document. We also noted that when the brochure was downloaded it stated that the price of issue 2 was “£5.99” and the regular price was “£8.99”. We considered that this price would be understood to refer to subsequent publications from issue 3 onwards. The brochure also did not refer to subscription prices, and we therefore understood that subscribers would not be offered preferential pricing compared with non-subscribers.
While we considered that the brochure had made the price of issue 2 and subsequent issues clear, we considered that the additional information regarding the higher prices of subsequent issues should have been presented clearly on the website without the need for consumers to download the brochure. As with ad (a), we considered that the cost and number of issues was material information necessary for consumers to make an informed decision in relation to the product. However, that information was omitted from the ad, and we considered that omission was likely to affect a consumer’s decision as to whether or not to make a purchase, and that the ad was therefore likely to mislead.
Furthermore, we considered that because ad (b) initially referred to the £5.99 price for issue 2 as one of the “advantages of being a subscriber” which implied preferential subscription rates, and which we understood was not the case, therefore, that information was likely to mislead. For those reasons, we concluded the ad was misleading.
On this point, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
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.
3.4
3.4
For marketing communications that quote prices for advertised products, material information [for the purposes of rule 3.3] includes:
and
3.4.3
3.4.3
the price of the advertised product, including taxes, or, if the nature of the product is such that the price cannot be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated
(Misleading advertising) and
3.17
3.17
Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication.
(Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told National Geographic Society to ensure that ads for their publication collections clearly stated the number and cost of all issues and not to suggest that a particular price was an advantage of being a subscriber if that was not the case. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance Team.
