Tweet by TV personality held by ASA to be advertising
Gemma Collins visited Toni & Guy for a hair appointment. They decided to waive the cost of their services. She was pleased with the service, so they suggested that she tweeted about it and agreed to her suggestion that she should mention a discount. The tweets were compiled by Miss Collins on the spur of the moment: they extolled her treatment and mentioned the discount. A complaint was made that these tweets were marketing communications and should have been identified as such. Toni & Guy maintained that the tweets were not part of any formal advertising campaign and the mention of a discount made it clear that they were marketing communications.
The ASA upheld the complaint. It considered that the average Twitter user would follow a number of people on the site and they would receive a number of tweets throughout the day. The CAP Code required ads to be obviously identifiable as marketing communications. The tweets encouraged users to quote "#gemma" but, in the context of the whole tweets, users could have overlooked the significance of that. In the absence of an identifier such as "#ad", the ASA considered the tweets were not obviously identifiable as Toni & Guy marketing communications and therefore concluded that they breached the Code.
Comment. Companies should be aware that the CAP Code extends to Twitter and therefore can cover informal marketing of the nature shown in this adjudication.
Website prices must be inclusive of VAT unless all consumers do not pay VAT or can recover VAT
In an adjudication concerning two hotel booking websites which listed prices exclusive of VAT, the ASA found that the prices were misleading and in breach of the CAP Code. It issued a reminder that prices should always be shown inclusive of VAT unless all consumers to whom the price claim was addressed paid no VAT or could recover VAT. Even then, exclusive prices need to state prominently the amount or rate of VAT that is payable.
Guidelines on use of the word "free"
The ASA has issued guidance on user of the word "free" in relation to products or services:
- Products or services can only be described as "free" if consumers are not required to pay for anything other than the "unavoidable" and "true" cost of responding. This rule is intended to prevent marketers from artificially inflating delivery costs.
- The word "free" must not be used in instances where the price of the item which must be purchased to take advantage of the free offer has been increased above its normal cost.
- Where a package comprises a pre-arranged combination of features where customers cannot exercise genuine choice on how many elements of the package they receive for the price, individual elements of the package must not be described as "free". A feature of a bundle or package can only be described as free if that feature has recently been added and is not intrinsic to the product or service being advertised.
Holidays and travel
The ASA has issued a note on holidays and travel, and in particular misleading prices which do not include non-optional charges and adds which exaggerate the availability of cheap fares by being subject to restrictions, such as limitations on when someone can travel.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
