Ad description
Two paid-for Facebook ads for Temu, an online marketplace:
a. The first ad, seen on 1 September 2025, featured a video of a mock-press release with a dubbed voice-over which said, “We apologise to everyone who has already downloaded Temu. Right now new users could receive £100 via PayPal, yes you heard that right! With this £100 you can shop at Temu however you like, but take note, this is only for those who download the app here. This is a unique promotion, don’t miss out, join now.” On-screen the Temu app icon popped up followed by on-screen text which stated, “£100 FREE SHIPPING”. Very small text at the bottom of the ad stated, “New app users only Earn 100 points to withdraw £100 Points are earned on a certain percentage of the value of each order placed on the promotion page exceeding the required order amount”.
b. The second ad, seen on 10 September 2025, featured a parody video of a woman acting as a customer who angrily threw paint over a stack of Temu labelled boxes, she said, “You liar!” A man asks “What’s your problem?”, the customer replied, “You’re the boss right? This fake advertising is all the time! I saw your ads that I get £100, downloaded the app and got nothing. It’s all just lies. How does your promotion even work?” The boss then replied, “Excuse me, our promotion is legit. You actually need to download the app from this video. If you click on this promo video and download the Temu app you’ll receive £100 via PayPal. With this £100 you can shop at Temu however you like.” Next to him stood another man holding a banner with “£100 CASHBACK” written on it. The woman then downloaded the app and the £100 PayPal cash reward appeared on her phone. She said, “What! They’re really giving that away.” She then stood next to the boss who was holding a banner which stated, “£100 CASHBACK” while saying “It’s a no brainer click on this video now and claim your offer.” Very small text at the bottom of the ad stated, “Only for new app users with qualifying orders. T&Cs apply.”
Issue
The complainant, who understood that consumers had downloaded the app but had not received the £100 PayPal credit, challenged whether the ads were misleading.
Response
Whaleco UK Ltd t/a Temu explained that the ads were intended to communicate the availability of a conditional cashback promotion, rather than an immediate cash payment. Following the receipt of the complaint, Temu voluntarily removed the ads and immediately conducted an internal review to assess the ads and the presentation of their key terms.
Temu said the promotion was designed to be understood when the ads were viewed in full. In that context, the ads explained that claiming the £100 PayPal reward was subject to eligibility conditions. Those conditions were expressly stated within the ads themselves. In particular, both ads included qualifications which stated that the promotion was limited to new app users and required qualifying orders (or an order exceeding a required amount). Temu cited the qualifications in ad(a) which stated, “New app users only; Earn 100 points to withdraw £100; Points are earned as a certain percentage of the value of each order placed on the promotion page exceeding the required order amount” and in ad (b) “Only for new app users with qualifying orders. T&Cs apply”.
Temu said they believed “new users” would have its ordinary meaning as understood by consumers, namely users who had not previously placed an order on Temu. They said new users to Temu who downloaded the app, entered the promotion via the ads and placed order(s) exceeding the required amount were eligible to receive a PayPal credit. Temu confirmed that participants who met the eligibility criteria as stated in the ads and completed the promotion had successfully received the £100 reward.
Temu said that they took any potential consumer confusion seriously and had refined their promotion practices to ensure clarity and consistency in their advertising and reduce the potential for misunderstanding in future ads. They were revising their ads to bring more attention to the need for qualifying orders and minimum spend levels, including significant conditions in voice-overs and improving the readability of qualifications to make sure they were clearer and more prominent.
Assessment
Upheld
Ad (a) stated, “We apologise to everyone who has already downloaded Temu. Right now new users could receive £100 via PayPal, yes you heard that right! With this £100 you can shop at Temu however this is only for those who download the app here”. Ad (b) stated, “If you click on this promo video and download the Temu app you’ll receive £100 via PayPal” whilst showing a man holding a “£100 CASHBACK” banner. The ASA considered that consumers would understand from those claims that if they downloaded the Temu app via the ads, they would receive £100 via PayPal straight away and in one payment to spend at Temu. We considered that impression was reinforced by people shown shopping online and using their new products in ad (a), and the woman receiving £100 PayPal cash reward on her phone immediately after she downloaded the app in ad (b).
However, we understood that at the time the ads were seen, the promotion operated through a points (coins) accrual system, whereby users had to place qualifying orders, collect coins at a conversion rate displayed in-app, and only after accumulating the required number of coins could they claim £100, either to their PayPal account (to spend at Temu) or as Temu credits. We therefore considered that the overall impression of the ads was likely to mislead consumers because it did not reflect the actual terms and conditions about how to participate in the promotion.
We acknowledged that the qualification in ad (a) stated, “Earn 100 points to withdraw £100 Points are earned on a certain percentage of the value of each order placed on the promotion page exceeding the required order amount”, and in ad (b) it stated, “with qualifying orders”. However, that wording appeared in very small text at the bottom of the screen and we considered it was therefore likely to have been overlooked. In any case, by introducing a requirement to make a qualifying purchase in order to be eligible for the promotion, the qualifications contradicted rather than clarified the overall impressions of the ads.
Ad (a) opened with an apology to those who had already downloaded the app before stating that “new users could receive £100 via PayPal”. We considered the reference to “new users” would be understood to mean new users of the app would qualify to participate in the promotion. In ad (b), the woman said she had downloaded the app previously but did not receive the £100 reward. She was told she needed to download the app from the ad and after doing so, she then received the PayPal credit. We considered that gave the impression that it was consumers who downloaded the app for the first time via the ads, regardless of whether they had previously shopped with Temu, who could participate in the promotion.
However, we understood that the promotion was only available to consumers who downloaded the app via the ad and had never previously placed an order with Temu, including on their website. We again considered that the overall impression of the ads was likely to mislead consumers because they did not reflect the actual terms and conditions of who was eligible for the promotion. We acknowledged that the qualifications in ads (a) and (b) stated, “New app users only” and “Only for new app users”, but for the reasons outlined above, we considered they were likely to be overlooked. In any case, by introducing a restriction on who was eligible for the promotion, the qualifications contradicted rather than clarified the overall impressions of the ads.
Because the ads suggested that anyone who downloaded the app from the ad would be eligible to get the £100 PayPal credit offer, when that was not the case, we concluded that the ads were misleading.
Ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 and 3.10 (Qualification).
Action
Ads (a) and (b) must not appear again in the forms complained of. We told Whaleco UK Ltd t/a Temu to ensure that any claims made about future promotions did not contradict the terms and conditions that applied to them.
