Ad description
A listing on the Amazon website for a divan bed was headed "Deluxe Elegance Supreme Pocket Sprung Memory Foam Divan Bed, King Size". Below were bullet points listing the product's size, colour, material, cleaning instructions and brand. To the left of this was an image of a divan bed in a bedroom. A drawer in the base was half open, showing a quilt inside.
Further text, under the heading "Product Description" included, "To Allow You To Order The Bed You Desire Our Beds Are Hand-Made To Order To Allow You To Choose The Number Of Drawers In Your Divan And You Can Choose To Have Your Divan Made With Faux Leather Or Faux Suede".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because he understood the item did not come with a drawer as standard.
Response
Home Discount Ltd (Home Discount) said all of their Deluxe beds were handmade to order using the customer's desired specifications. They said customers could choose from none up to two drawers. They said customers were required to call them to discuss the specification of their bed, as stated in the ad.
Home Discount also submitted links to two further ads on Amazon listing the same bed with one or two drawers. They said the image of the bed was the only one available for this item and was shown for illustrative purposes only. They pointed out that the image also featured, pillows, a headboard, a blanket, a plant pot and a person, none of which were included in the sale.
Home Discount said the listing was clearly titled as "Deluxe Elegance Supreme Pocket Sprung Memory Foam Divan Bed, King Size", which contained no indication of any drawers. Likewise, neither the technical details nor the product description mentioned the presence of drawers. The description explained that the bed was a customisable item, which required the customer to contact Home Discount to discuss their requirements, as the appearance and price could be affected.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the ad objected to by the complainant was titled, "Deluxe Elegance Supreme Pocket Sprung Memory Foam Divan Bed, King Size". The additional ads submitted by Home Discount, for the bed with one or two drawers, were titled, "Deluxe Elegance Supreme Pocket Sprung Memory Foam Divan Bed, King Size, 1 Drawer" and "Deluxe Elegance Supreme Pocket Sprung Memory Foam Divan Bed, King Size, 2 Drawer" respectively.
The same photograph showing the bed with one drawer was used in all three ads. We noted that the ad in question contained no further information about drawers, apart from the line "To Allow You To Order The Bed You Desire Our Beds Are Hand-Made To Order To Allow You To Choose The Number Of Drawers In Your Divan And You Can Choose To Have Your Divan Made With Faux Leather Or Faux Suede".
We noted Home Discount asserted that customers were required to contact them to discuss their specifications. However, we understood consumers were able to purchase the bed via Amazon without directly contacting Home Discount or selecting individual preferences.
In the absence of clear information about the number of drawers, and in light of the photograph, we considered consumers would infer that, for the price quoted in the ad, the bed would come with one drawer. Because it did not, 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
3.17
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 Home Discount to make it clear that the bed purchasable through the ad did not come with drawers.
