Ad description
A bid tv teleshopping broadcast, on 10 December 2012 at 16:18, promoted a set of three Granite Outdoor Fleeces. While on-screen text stated "now at £19.99", the presenters stated, "That's for all three, they're 35 quid a go these. You're going to get all three of them ... But at that kind of money ... at 35 quid a go." While on-screen text stated "now at £16.99", the presenter stated "Can I just tell you, you wouldn't even get one for that."
Issue
One viewer, who understood that the fleeces were on sale for £4.99 each elsewhere, challenged whether the ad misleadingly exaggerated the saving on offer.
Response
sit-up Ltd, trading as bid tv, had reviewed the footage in question and spoken to the host and producer of the live presentation. They considered that the comment "you couldn't buy these cheaper anywhere else" was an inadvertent, unplanned, 'off the cuff' remark made by the host as the offer was nearing its conclusion. They said the host and producer were now aware that such 'off the cuff' comments could result in a breach of the BCAP Code. They added that the company staff had gone through compliance training and the individuals concerned, as well as all the other producers and presenters involved with the business, were aware that advertisers were required to hold evidence to substantiate their claims. In light of that, they provided an assurance that it would not happen again.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA welcomed bid tv's assurance that they undergone training to ensure that similar issues did not arise in future and that they would ensure they held evidence to support their pricing claims. However, because the claim that bid tv was offering the fleeces at a lower price than its competitors could not be substantiated, we considered that it was misleading and concluded that the presentation was in breach of the Code.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.12 3.12 Advertisements must not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service. (Exaggeration) 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
We told bid tv to ensure that they held sufficient substantiation for their price comparisons in future.
