Ad description
A poster on the London Underground advertised a meal delivery service. Large text stated "balance box - a free days [sic] food, on us*". Small print at the bottom of the ad stated "*This offer is valid on our market menu ... See www.balancebox.com for full T&C's. When you get to the checkout £23.99 will be removed from your bill using the code tubefree".
Issue
The complainant, who understood it was necessary to sign up for more than one day in order to obtain the offer, challenged whether the claim "a free days [sic] food" was misleading.
Response
The Pure Package Ltd, t/a Balance Box, stated that the headline "a free days [sic] food on us" was linked by an asterisk to small print at the bottom of the ad which explained that "£23.99 [would] be removed from the bill". They said they now appreciated that, to add clarity, the headline should have included that information or should have stated that the offer was available when consumers signed up to their three-day package. They also noted that the dimensions of the ad had needed to be changed at short notice and that the small print had therefore been reduced in size. They said they would ensure that future advertising complied with the CAP Code.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that in order to obtain the advertised "free days [sic] food" consumers were required to place an order for at least three days' worth of food, at a minimum cost of £47.98 (including the £23.99 discount to cover one of the three days). We noted that the ad did not refer to the need to place an order for more than one day's supply of food, nor the associated costs in doing so, but considered that both of those factors were significant conditions likely to affect a consumer's understanding of the offer and decision as to whether to respond to the advertised promotion. Although small print stated "When you get to the checkout £23.99 will be removed from your bill using the code tubefree", we considered that consumers were unlikely to understand that to mean that there would necessarily be costs over and above the £23.99 that would be refunded at the checkout stage.
We welcomed Balance Box's assurance that they would ensure that similar issues did not recur in their advertising. However, we were concerned that their suggestion to include in the headline claim either the information that £23.99 would be removed from the bill at checkout stage or that the free day's food was available when signing up to a three-day package did not go far enough to ensure compliance with the CAP Code, which stipulated that the extent of the commitment required by the consumer to take advantage of a "free" offer must be made clear. We considered that, to fulfil that criterion and ensure that the reference to "free" did not mislead, the ad needed to refer in the headline claim to the need to place an order for at least three days' worth of food, and the small print should also state the minimum cost to the consumer of that order.
Because the ad did not make clear the commitment required in order to receive the free day's food, we concluded that it was misleading and in breach of the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer 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 the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.23
3.23
Marketing communications must make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a "free" offer.
(Free) and
8.17.1
8.17.1
How to participate
How to participate, including significant conditions and costs, and other major factors reasonably likely to influence consumers' decision or understanding about the promotion
(Significant terms and conditions for promotions).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told The Pure Package Ltd to ensure in future advertising that "free" claims were adequately qualified to make clear the extent of the commitment required in order to take advantage of the relevant offer.
