Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A product listing and a paid-for Facebook ad for online retailers owned by Wofun Company Ltd:
a. A product listing for adhesive tape on www.saltdays.co.uk, seen on 8 August 2019, featured an image of a canvas held against the wall with the text “Holds Up To 1KG”.
b. A paid-for Facebook ad for thermal gloves from Thamesowl, seen in December 2019, featured a video showing the thermal gloves being worn in various scenarios such as riding a bike outdoors and skiing and shots of the gloves flashing red. On-screen text stated “I’ve been waiting for these Heated Gloves!... Used by professional cyclists… WATERPROOF never worry about rain & snow”. The caption of the video stated “Warm Thermal Glove, Waterproof, Phone touchable, Protect skin from the wind, Adjust for perfect fit, Enjoy This Winter!”.
Issue
1. One complainant challenged whether the claim “Holds Up To 1KG” and the accompanying image of a canvas placed against the wall in ad (a) were misleading and could be substantiated.
2. Three complainants, who understood that the gloves were not heated, challenged whether the claim “Heated Gloves” in ad (b) was misleading.
Response
Wofun Company Ltd t/a www.saltdays.co.uk & Thamesowl did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Wofun Company Ltd’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded Wofun Company Ltd of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
1. Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “Holds Up To 1KG”, and the accompanying image of a canvas on a wall, to mean that the adhesive tape would be able to hold items such as a canvas, with a maximum weight of 1 kg. The complainant who had purchased the tape had found that they were unable to hang an acrylic canvas on the wall. In the absence of evidence to demonstrate that the tape could hold items up to 1 kg, including canvases, we concluded that the ad was misleading and breached the Code.
On this point, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
(Misleading adverting),
3.7
3.7
Advertisements must not falsely imply that the advertiser is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession. Advertisements must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context.
(Substantiation) 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
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
. The guidance is available at:
Use of superimposed text in television advertising
(Exaggeration).
2. Upheld
We considered that the ad, in particular the shots of the gloves flashing a red colour and the on-screen text which stated “Heated Gloves”, would be understood by consumers to mean that the gloves were heated. The complainants had purchased the gloves but found that they were not heated. In the absence of evidence to demonstrate that the gloves were heated, we concluded that the ad was misleading and breached the Code.
On this point, ad (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
(Misleading adverting),
3.7
3.7
Advertisements must not falsely imply that the advertiser is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession. Advertisements must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context.
(Substantiation) 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
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
. The guidance is available at:
Use of superimposed text in television advertising
(Exaggeration).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Wofun Company Ltd t/a www.saltdays.co.uk & Thamesowl not to use the claims “Holds up to 1KG” and “heated gloves”, or imagery which implied the same, unless they held evidence to demonstrate that was the case. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
