Ad description

An ad for a job opportunity to teach English in China placed by Liangban ESL Recruitment Agency on the website Gumtree.com was headed "Great English Teaching Roles in China - No Degree Required". Text within the body of the ad listed the details of the job opportunities. Text stated "Competitive monthly salary Free furnished apartment or housing allowance provided. Visa Assistance ...". Further text beneath the sub-heading "Who we are looking for" stated "Those with or without a degree".

Issue

The complainant, who understood that in order to obtain a working visa for the advertised job opportunity, a degree in teaching was required, challenged whether the claim "No Degree Required" and the implication that the positions were for "Those with or without a degree" were misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

Liangban ESL Recruitment Agency (Liangban) said that a degree in teaching was not required to obtain a working visa for the advertised job opportunity. They provided evidence which they believed demonstrated that individuals who did not hold a degree in teaching had secured the advertised position and working visa. They therefore believed the ad was not misleading.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA considered consumers would understand the ad to mean that individuals without a degree were able to secure the advertised position. We considered the evidence provided by Liangban was sufficient to demonstrate that individuals who did not hold a degree had been appointed to the advertised position. We therefore considered the claim "No Degree Required" and the implication that the advertised positions were for "Those with or without a degree" was not likely to mislead. On that basis, we concluded that the ad did not breach the Code.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules  3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.  (Misleading advertising) and  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), but did not find it to be in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.1     3.7    


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