Background
Ad description
A magazine ad for a blanket stated "Keep warm this winter Snuggle Blanket £19.99 + £3.99 p&p - buy one, get one FREE". The ad featured a picture and description of the product as well as instructions for ordering via telephone and online.
Issue
The complainant, who had ordered the product but only received one of the items and not the free additional item, challenged whether the claim "buy one, get one FREE" was misleading.
Response
Harrogate House Ltd said they strongly disputed that the ad was misleading and, if the complainant had only received one blanket that would be a result of a packing error rather than an issue with their advertising. They did not respond further.
Assessment
Upheld
We noted that Harrogate House had not provided a substantive response to the complaint. We had therefore not received an explanation as to why the specific complainant had not received the free item, nor anything that showed that other orders had been fulfilled as claimed in the ad. We therefore concluded that the claim "buy one, get one FREE" had not been substantiated and 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. (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).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form.
