Rulings (29)
  • Nationwide Building Society t/a Nationwide

    • Upheld
    • Press general, Television, Radio
    • 03 April 2024

    TV, radio and press ads for Nationwide were misleading as consumers were likely to understand that the building society had made a long-term decision not to close their branches and that they had not recently closed any branches when this was not the case.

  • Sparks Information PTE Ltd t/a Hunting Sniper

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 03 April 2024

    A paid-for Facebook ad for Hunting Sniper, a mobile app game, featured realistic footage of harm to animals, which was likely to cause widespread offence and unjustified distress.

  • Capital Credit Union Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 28 February 2024

    A paid-for Meta post irresponsibly encouraged consumers to spend more than they could afford by taking out a loan to fund Christmas spending.

  • Pennine Community Credit Union Ltd t/a PCCU

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 28 February 2024

    A paid-for Meta post irresponsibly encouraged consumers to spend more than they could afford by taking out a loan to fund Christmas spending.

  • Brooksdale Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 31 January 2024

    Three paid-for Facebook ads for PPI tax rebates misleadingly implied they were from HMRC or an official government service, and irresponsibly took advantage of people’s concerns about the cost of living crisis.

  • Reclaim My PPI Tax Ltd t/a Reclaim My PPI Tax

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 31 January 2024

    Three paid-for Facebook ads for PPI tax rebates misleadingly implied they were from HMRC or an official government service, and irresponsibly took advantage of people’s concerns about the cost of living crisis.

  • Gamehaus Network Technology Co Ltd

    • Upheld
    • App (paid ad)
    • 24 January 2024

    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.

  • FunPlus International AG t/a Funplus

    • Upheld
    • Game (mobile/app)
    • 17 January 2024

    An in-app ad for a mobile game was likely to cause serious offence by trivialising and condoning sexual assault and sexual violence.

  • Borthwick Group (Energy) Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 15 November 2023

    A paid-for Facebook ad from a credit broker misleadingly suggested that it had been endorsed or approved by the BBC.

  • FanCraze Technologies Inc

    • Upheld
    • Social media (own site)
    • 15 November 2023

    A Tweet from Essex County Cricket Club for NFTs wasn’t obviously identifiable as a marketing communication; didn’t make it clear which cryptowallet a prospective buyer would need; didn’t make it clear that it was referring to an investment product or that gas fees applied; and failed to illustrate the...

  • TMS Legal Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 15 November 2023

    Two paid-for TikTok posts were misleading, as they implied testimonials featured were from genuine customers of Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn No.1.

  • Shenzhen Guangming District Kangshuo E-Commerce Firm t/a Health Support Store

    • Upheld
    • Website (paid ad)
    • 01 November 2023

    A paid-for ad on AliExpress was irresponsible for featuring a model that appeared unhealthily thin and made medicinal claims for an unlicensed product.

  • Alibaba.com Singapore E-commerce Private Ltd t/a Alibaba.com

    • Upheld
    • Website (paid ad)
    • 20 September 2023

    A paid-for ad on a newspaper website portrayed a child in a sexualised way and was harmful and socially irresponsible.

  • Key Retirement Solutions Ltd t/a Key Equity Release

    • Upheld
    • Television
    • 13 September 2023

    A TV ad for an equity release mortgage product exploited the financial fears of the audience and did not make the risks and suitability of the product sufficiently clear.

  • OrganicSupplies GB

    • Upheld
    • Internet (website content)
    • 13 September 2023

    A product listing for a B12 vitamin injection kit promoted a prescription-only medicine (POM) to the public.

  • Mitu Inc Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Internet (website content)
    • 30 August 2023

    A paid-for ad for an adult video chat app portrayed someone who seemed to be under 18 years of age in a sexual way.

  • Versus Law Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (own site)
    • 30 August 2023

    A page on the Flight Delay Claim website implied that passengers of flights cancelled or delayed over three hours were guaranteed compensation and did not make clear that there were advertiser’s fees or that consumers could only apply for compensation for Loganair flights through their service if they had first c...

  • Blackford Casks Ltd t/a Whisky Investment Partners

    • Upheld
    • Internet (website content), Social media (own site), Internet (display)
    • 23 August 2023

    An online display ad, website and two paid-for Facebook posts for a whisky cask investment company made misleading and unsubstantiated investment return claims, did not make the risks involved in whisky investment clear and took advantage of consumers’ inexperience and credulity.

  • London Cask Co Ltd t/a London Cask Company

    • Upheld
    • National newspaper (paid ad), Search (paid), Internet (website content)
    • 23 August 2023

    Two national newspaper ads, a website and a paid-for Google ad for a whisky cask investment company made misleading and unsubstantiated investment return claims and did not make the risks involved in whisky investment clear.

  • One Source Digital Ltd

    • Upheld
    • Social media (paid ad)
    • 16 August 2023

    A paid-for Facebook ad for an ECO funding and government grant scheme misleadingly implied that the company was endorsed by or affiliated with the UK Government.