Ad description
A radio ad for Moneysupermarket.com, heard on 26 December 2021, discussed how listeners could save £327 on a credit card deal. A voice-over stated, “Britain, latest intelligence from the Money Super 7 shows you could get a better deal on your credit card. But don't panic you could super save £327 with help from the smarts, visit Money Supermarket to save now.” A second voice-over stated, “The Money Super 7 helping Britain's save on credit cards and so much more, super save with Money Supermarket.” At the end of the ad, the voice-over stated, “Saving based on £2,000 transfer to a 0% card over 12 months, 1.5% BT fee, 5% monthly repayment versus 21% card October 2021 Moneysupermarket.com Ltd is a credit broker, 18+ subject to status.”
Issue
The complainant, who believed the terms and conditions at the end of the ad were spoken so quickly that they were unintelligible, challenged whether the ad was misleading.Response
Moneysupermarket.com said that nearly one third of the 30-second ad was made up of the necessary qualifications for credit cards and it was material information. That included how the financial claim in the ad was reached and what it was based on. In addition the ad explained their status as a credit broker, that consumers had to be 18 plus to qualify and the offer was subject to status.
Moneysupermarket.com acknowledged that the terms and conditions had been read at a faster speed than the body of the ad. However, they believed that the ad followed Radiocentre advice that qualifications should be clear and read in such a way as to be easily heard and understood by the listener. They therefore believed that the qualifications were not read so fast that they were unintelligible. Moneysupermarket.com added that the ad had been subject to only one complaint and they believed that determining whether or not someone was speaking too quickly was somewhat subjective.
Moneysupermarket.com explained that they worked hard to ensure their ads complied with the relevant advertising codes, financial rules and regulations. They said the ad was last aired on 9 January 2022 and would not be broadcast again in the form complained about.
Radiocentre said that they had cleared the ad on the condition that important clarifications or legally required information should have been read in such a way that the listener could easily hear and understand them. This included the speed at which they were read, the volume and any background noise that could interfere with them.
Assessment
Upheld
The ad presented the savings a listener could make on switching credit cards using Moneysupermarket.com’s service. The conditions at the end of the ad stated that the switch was based on a £2,000 transfer to a 0% card over 12 months, a 1.5% balance transfer fee and a 5% monthly repayment versus a card with 21% monthly repayment. The conditions also stated Moneysupermarket.com was a credit broker.
We considered that conditions which explained to listeners on what the £327 saving was based were material information that consumers required to make an informed decision. These therefore must be presented to listeners in a clear and intelligible manner.
We considered that the terms and conditions were spoken at a much faster pace than the earlier part of the ad. We considered that the wording spoken in the second voice-over had been delivered in such a way that listeners would not have been able to understand its content. Because those conditions had not been presented in a clear and intelligible manner, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules
3.1
3.1
The standards objectives, insofar as they relate to advertising, include:
a) that persons under the age of 18 are protected;
b) that material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder is not included in television and radio services;
c) that the proper degree of responsibility is exercised with respect to the content of programmes which are religious programmes;
d) that generally accepted standards are applied to the contents of television and radio services so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from inclusion in such services of offensive and harmful material;
e) that the inclusion of advertising which may be misleading, harmful or offensive in television and radio services is prevented;
f) that the international obligations of the United Kingdom with respect to advertising included in television and radio services are complied with [in particular in respect of television those obligations set out in Articles 3b, 3e,10, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 22 of Directive 89/552/EEC (the Audi Visual Media Services Directive)];
g) that there is no use of techniques which exploit the possibility of conveying a message to viewers or listeners, or of otherwise influencing their minds, without their being aware, or fully aware, of what has occurred"
Section 319(2).
and
3.2
3.2
Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that consumers need in context to make informed decisions about whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead consumers depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the advertisement is constrained by time or space, the measures that the advertiser takes to make that information available to consumers by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.10
3.10
Advertisements must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
and
3.11
3.11
Qualifications must be presented clearly.
BCAP has published guidance on superimposed text to help television broadcasters ensure compliance with rule
3.1
3.1
The standards objectives, insofar as they relate to advertising, include:
a) that persons under the age of 18 are protected;
b) that material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder is not included in television and radio services;
c) that the proper degree of responsibility is exercised with respect to the content of programmes which are religious programmes;
d) that generally accepted standards are applied to the contents of television and radio services so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from inclusion in such services of offensive and harmful material;
e) that the inclusion of advertising which may be misleading, harmful or offensive in television and radio services is prevented;
f) that the international obligations of the United Kingdom with respect to advertising included in television and radio services are complied with [in particular in respect of television those obligations set out in Articles 3b, 3e,10, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 22 of Directive 89/552/EEC (the Audi Visual Media Services Directive)];
g) that there is no use of techniques which exploit the possibility of conveying a message to viewers or listeners, or of otherwise influencing their minds, without their being aware, or fully aware, of what has occurred"
Section 319(2).
. The guidance is available at:
Use of superimposed text in television advertising
(Qualification).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Moneysupermarket.com Ltd to ensure that significant limitations and material information were presented in a clear and intelligible manner in future ads.
