Ad description
A TV ad for Wayfair.co.uk, a home goods retailer, seen on 29 January 2017, featured a voice-over which stated, “When you need something for your home, Wayfair’s got you covered. At Wayfair.co.uk everything home is in one place … Come find what you need at Wayfair.co.uk”. Throughout the ad, various home products were shown in conjunction with a search tool bar. One scene of the ad featured on-screen text which stated “Stock and Styles may vary”.
Issue
The complainant, who believed that some of the products advertised were not listed on their website, challenged whether the ad was misleading.
Response
Wayfair UK Ltd said they had included on-screen text to notify viewers that products available on their website may not always be identical to those seen in the ad. They stated that the ad was intended to offer an overall general representation of the Wayfair brand and catalogue rather than a promotion of any particular products.
They said that their catalogue included several million individual products worldwide and, as such, their inventory was constantly changing.
Wayfair explained that 40% of the products featured in the ad were available directly on their website. They provided a table which demonstrated that a number of products shown during the ad were available on the website or that they offered a similar alternative product.
They explained that the ad was shot in the United States where Wayfair was based and therefore the number of products featured from the UK catalogue was restricted. They highlighted that during the phone and tablet scene in the ad, they had edited the products to ensure they accurately represented the UK stock available at the time.
Clearcast said that they had discussed the availability of the products at the pre-clearance stage with Wayfair. They understood that many products shown were available on the Wayfair website and others were comparable and very similar.
Clearcast stated that they were informed that stock changed regularly and therefore differed over time. They considered that the on-screen text was sufficient to notify viewers that they may not always find the exact item online.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that the intention of the ad was to offer a general representation of the Wayfair brand and catalogue. However, we considered many UK consumers would not be aware that Wayfair was a US brand with a large and variable product catalogue, of which only a proportion was available in the UK. We also noted that, when particular products were shown throughout the ad, they were shown in conjunction with a search tool bar. We considered that the search tool bar gave the impression that consumers could obtain the products by similarly searching on the Wayfair website.
We accepted that stock may change and vary over time and we noted the presence of the on-screen text which stated “stocks and styles may vary”. However, we also noted that the on-screen text was shown for a short time period rather than throughout the ad. Furthermore, the size of the text was significantly smaller in comparison to other text which appeared during the ad. While the on-screen text complied with relevant guidance relating to the legibility of on-screen text, we considered that it was insufficient to counteract the overall impression of the ad, which was that the products shown were available on the Wayfair website.
Because some of the products shown throughout the ad were not stocked, including the slipcover shown being pulled over the couch while the word “slipcover” was typed into the search bar tool, 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.
and
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.
and
3.11
3.11
Qualifications must be presented clearly.
BCAP has published Guidance on Superimposed Text to help television broadcasters ensure compliance with rule
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
. The guidance is available at:
http://www.cap.org.uk/~/media/Files/CAP/Help%20notes%20new/BCAP_Advertising_Guidance_Notes_1.ashx
(Qualification).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told Wayfair UK Ltd to ensure that future ads did not imply that all products shown were available on their website if that was not the case.
