Ad description
The product packaging for Cookie Dough Dessert by The Pizza Company, seen on 3 February 2026, featured a prize promotion. Bold text in a gold colour on the front of the packaging, in the top-right corner, stated “PLAY & WIN” above the logos of Cineworld, Skatehut, Buyagift and First Choice. Further text stated “£100K OF PRIZES” and "PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN”.
Text on one side of the packaging stated “SCAN HERE TO PLAY & WIN” alongside a QR code. Further text stated “Promoter: The Pizza Company. Internet access required. 18+. Promotional pizza purchase necessary. Purchase validation may be requested. One entry per 13-digit barcode + Special Entry Code from Facebook. [...] Full terms & conditions at www.thepizzacompanyuk.com/playandwintsandcs”.
Issue
The complainant, who purchased the product but later found out that the Cookie Dough Dessert was not eligible for the promotion, challenged whether the ad was misleading.
Response
Bakkavor Foods Ltd t/a The Pizza Company said that the Cookie Dough Dessert was not eligible for the “PLAY & WIN” promotion. They also said that, across multiple sides of the pack, the promotional banner stated “PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN”. They believed that was unambiguous as it explicitly referred to pizza packs, and not to sides, desserts or other product categories. They said the Cookie Dough Dessert featured prominent labelling on its front, stating “SIDE” and “TAKEAWAY SIDE”, which they believed signalled that it was not a pizza product.
The Pizza Company also said that there was no wording on the Cookie Dough Dessert packaging that suggested it was eligible for the promotion such as “participating pack”, “promo pack” or “entry with this product”. They believed that the mandatory purchase requirement was printed clearly on the side of the package. It stated, “Restrictions and exclusions apply” and “Promotional pizza purchase necessary”, further clarifying that the purchase of a pizza, rather than a dessert, was required.
They said the text “Full terms & conditions at www.thepizzacompanyuk.com/playandwintsandcs” was in a legible font size, and that this replicated the signposting on all eligible pizza packs and gave the consumer immediate access to the terms and conditions, before participating in the promotion. They said that the online terms and conditions listed only pizza products as eligible and showed that the Cookie Dough Dessert was not included.
The Pizza Company said that the panel setting out details of the promotion, headed “PLAY & WIN”, appeared in the upper corner of the pack, separate from the product title and the indication that it was a “SIDE”. They believed that separation reinforced that the promotion panel was part of a creative associated with the brand, rather than an indication that this particular product was eligible. They also said the pack featured no misleading visual signals, and that nothing in the imagery, text arrangement or layout linked the promotion specifically to the Cookie Dough Dessert pack.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that the bold text in a gold colour stating “PLAY & WIN” alongside “£100K OF PRIZES” and "PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN” displayed prominently on the front of the Cookie Dough Dessert packaging would likely be interpreted by consumers to mean the product was eligible for the prize promotion. We considered that the text on the side of the pack stating “SCAN HERE TO PLAY & WIN” alongside a QR code added to that impression. However, we understood that only pizzas from the advertiser’s range were eligible and the Cookie Dough Dessert was not.
We acknowledged that the packaging did not include text which explicitly stated that the product was eligible, such as “entry with this product”. We accepted that the Cookie Dough Dessert was labelled a “side” and “takeaway side”, and that other text stated “Restrictions and exclusions apply”, “PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN” and “Promotional pizza purchase necessary”. However, we considered that such text was less prominent than the text stating “PLAY & WIN”; “£100K OF PRIZES”; "PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN”; and “SCAN HERE TO PLAY & WIN” alongside the QR code, which all contributed to the impression that the Cookie Dough Dessert was eligible and we considered that it was insufficient to override that impression.
We also considered that even if consumers were aware of the condition, “PICK UP A PIZZA PACK TO PLAY & WIN” and “Promotional pizza purchase necessary”, there was some ambiguity due to the word “PIZZA” in the company’s name and in large text next to “PLAY & WIN” alongside “£100K OF PRIZES” on the front of the ad, and that some consumers may have interpreted that reference to “PIZZA” to mean the product was a pizza pack that was eligible for the prize promotion.
For those reasons, we considered that because the ad implied that the Cookie Dough Dessert was eligible to enter the promotion, when that was not the case, it was misleading. We also considered that, because of that, the promotion was likely to have caused unnecessary disappointment to consumers who had purchased the pack only to find out later that it was not eligible and we concluded that the promotion breached the Code on that basis.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 8.2 (Promotional marketing).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Bakkavor Foods Ltd t/a The Pizza Company not to imply that particular products were included in future promotions if that was not the case, and to ensure that they administered their future promotions fairly and avoided causing unnecessary disappointment.
