Background
Summary of Council:
Three issues were investigated of which one was Upheld and two were Not upheld.
Ad description
A regional press ad, viewed in November and December 2011, stated above the headline "Column sponsored by Natural Scotland". The headline read "Celebration of links between Scotland and China as pandas arrive in Edinburgh". Further text stated "Now, in a symbolic gesture of friendship between the countries, and following five years of political and diplomatic talks, the Chinese are gifting two giant pandas to live in Scotland, under the custodianship of Edinburgh Zoo ... Edinburgh Zoo is expecting scores of people to flock to see the rare pair. As well as attracting visitors, the endangered animals will be part of an important conservation programme. The pandas' presence in Scotland is a sign of a strengthened alliance with China, and opens up new opportunities in trade, culture and education with the world's fastest growing economy".
Issue
Animal Concern and Scotland for Animals challenged whether:
1. it was clear that it was a marketing communication;
2. the ad was misleading, because it suggested that the pandas were a free gift, whereas they understood that they had been leased to the charity that owned Edinburgh Zoo by China at a substantial cost; and
3. the claim "the endangered animals will be part of an important conservation programme" was misleading, because they understood that the programme had had little success in breeding animals for release back into their natural habitat and had done little to protect that habitat.
Response
1. The Scottish Government said the ad was clearly labelled as paid for because it carried large, bold font at the top of the ad, which stated the column was "Sponsored by Natural Scotland" and the Natural Scotland brand logo was featured at the end of the column. They provided examples to show that the layout of that ad matched the labelling that was carried across all press ads run by the Scottish Government. They said they had never received a previous complaint or any recorded confusion over the interpretation of the labelling of their sponsored columns.
2. The Scottish Government said that no money was due to be paid by either the UK Government or the Scottish Government to the Chinese authorities for the two Giant Pandas. They said the pandas had not been leased by China to Scotland at cost. They referred to a quote from the Chinese ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Mr Liu Xiaoming, who said "This historical agreement is a gift to the people of the UK from China. It will represent an important symbol of our friendship and bring our two people closer together." They explained that the charity which owned Edinburgh Zoo would pay an agreed annual sum to the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association and the money would go directly towards Giant Panda conservation projects in the wild. They stated that was not payment for the two pandas but a contribution to global efforts to ensure the survival of one of the world's most endangered species.
3. The Scottish Government believed the claim was not misleading and said they made no reference at any time to the success of conservation efforts, they simply highlighted that such conservation efforts were important to the survival of the Giant Panda. They said the use of the adjective "important" was applied to the conservation programme alone and not to the success of the programme. They explained that, given that there are a small number of Giant Pandas left in the wild, they would argue that the importance of any conservation programme was clear and substantiated. They stated they had not implied that the conservation of the Giant Pandas would be achieved more successfully in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.
Assessment
1. Not Upheld
The ASA noted the headline across the top of the ad, which stated "Column sponsored by Natural Scotland". We also noted the Natural Scotland brand logo appeared in the bottom right-hand corner of the ad. We considered that that made clear that it was a marketing communication.
On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1 2.1 Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such. and 2.4 2.4 Marketers and publishers must make clear that advertorials are marketing communications; for example, by heading them "advertisement feature". (Recognition of marketing communications) but did not find it in breach.
2. Upheld
We considered that consumers would interpret the terms "gift" and "gifting" to mean that the pandas were given without payment. Although we acknowledged that the Scottish Government had not made any payment, we considered that the sum paid by the charity that owned Edinburgh Zoo would be considered by consumers to be a commercial arrangement. In the absence of text stating that the "gift" was in exchange for a substantial payment, we considered that the claim "in a symbolic gesture of friendship between the countries" in conjunction with the terms "gift" and "gifting", implied that the pandas were provided by China for free. Because that was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
On this point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
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) 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).
3. Not upheld
We understood that the complainants had concerns about the success of the programme. However, we considered consumers would interpret the claim to be a reference to the efforts made on behalf of conservationists to preserve the Giant Panda from extinction, but not to any specific, successful conclusion. We acknowledged that the Scottish Government said the programme was important because the Giant Panda was an endangered species and we therefore concluded that the ad was not misleading.
On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
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) 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) but did not find it in breach.
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told the Scottish Government not to imply in future that the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo were provided without payment.
