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John Mills Ltd t/a JML Direct
A TV ad for a cleaning tool presented gender stereotypes in a way that was likely to cause harm.
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Worldwide Trademarks sro t/a Worldwide Trademarks
A direct mailing was not obviously identifiable as an ad, and misleadingly had the appearance of an invoice.
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Lenovo Technology (UK) Ltd
An email contained the misleading claim “Get 10% off any product”.
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BKUK Group Ltd t/a Burger King
Three emails for foods in high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) were directed at children through the media in which they appeared.
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Lynne McTaggart
Two marketing emails and a website made misleading claims about alternative medicine treating medical conditions, and discouraged people seeking essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
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Gamehaus Network Technology Co Ltd
An in-app ad for a mobile game featuring an incestuous relationship, suggesting a child had been sexualised and groomed by an adult and portraying a child in a sexual way was likely to cause serious and widespread offence.
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Grandbing Technology Co Ltd t/a On Fancy
A website for an online clothing retailer portrayed a child in a sexual way and was irresponsible.
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Outsourceful Ltd t/a Outsourceful
An email and website for a recruitment agency perpetuated harmful racial stereotypes and were likely to cause serious offence.
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FunPlus International AG t/a Funplus
An in-app ad for a mobile game was likely to cause serious offence by trivialising and condoning sexual assault and sexual violence.
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GIRLvsCANCER
An outdoor poster that referenced a swear word was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was inappropriate for an untargeted medium.
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Zzoomm plc
A direct mailing misleadingly stated the savings someone could make with their broadband service.
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Eurostar International Ltd
A promotional email that advertised trips for £39 was misleading for not having enough tickets at that price point.
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Howe Tools Ltd
Two radio ads for Howe Tools, a power tool supplier, heard in October on Greatest Hits Radio and Heart Radio: a. In the first radio ad, a voice-over said, “At Howe Tools, we swear by our reliability, which is why we sell quality power tools from only the best brands. And if you don’t believe us you can g...
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Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd t/a KFC
An email and two outdoor poster ads for KFC, seen in October and November 2023: a. The email included an image with text that stated “FINALLY F CKIN’ GOOD”. The letters between the “F” and “CKIN’” were covered by chips. Text underneath stated "NOT-SO HUMBLE BRAG. ...
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Whaleco UK Ltd t/a Temu
Four display ads and an in-app ad for Temu were sexually graphic and likely to cause widespread offence; sexualised someone who was a child; sexually objectified women; and were inappropriately targeted.
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ThruDark Ltd
An Instagram post for a clothing brand was irresponsible, offensive and condoned and encouraged violence, particularly against women, as well as glamourising guns and gun violence.
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Prettylittlething.com Ltd t/a Prettylittlething.com
An email ad failed to administer a pricing promotion via a discount code fairly.
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Alibaba.com Singapore E-commerce Private Ltd t/a Alibaba.com
A paid-for ad on a newspaper website portrayed a child in a sexualised way and was harmful and socially irresponsible.
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AOS Trading Ltd t/a Rattan Hut
An email, website, and paid-for Instagram story for a garden furniture retailer misleadingly claimed that items were free despite consumers having to meet a minimum order value to use the voucher codes.
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Viva! t/a Viva!
Two paid-for social media ads for Viva! were irresponsibly targeted and were likely to cause unnecessary distress and serious and widespread offence.
Rulings
Our rulings are published every Wednesday and set out on the public record how, following investigation, the advertising rules apply and where we draw the line in judging whether an ad has broken the rules. We also publish a list of companies and organisations which, following receipt of a complaint, agreed to amend or withdraw their ad without the need for a formal investigation.
Rulings (30)