Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland releases latest Complaints Bulletin
- 11 advertisements across social media, online, radio and print were found to be in breach of the ASAI Code on grounds related to a range of issues including Misleading, Substantiation and Alcohol
- One intra industry / interested party complaint was upheld
30th March 2023 – The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland’s (ASAI) independent Complaints Committee has released its latest Complaints Bulletin, which contains 16 case reports on complaints recently investigated by the organisation.
8 of the 16 cases were upheld in full and 3 of the 16 cases were upheld in part. Advertisements across social media, online, radio and brochures were found to be in breach of the ASAI Code on grounds related to Misleading, Substantiation and Alcohol. One intra industry / interested party complaint was upheld. The ASAI Complaints Committee chose not to uphold complaints made against 3 advertisements and issued 1 statement to an advertisement.
The Complaints Committee is a completely independent arm of the ASAI and is responsible for considering and adjudicating on complaints submitted by the public, by an organisation, by a Government Department, or any other person or body. The Committee is made up of a range of experts from the advertising, media, education, consumer, and marketing sectors. See further details here – http://www.asai.ie/about-us/complaints-committee
Commenting on the latest ASAI rulings, Orla Twomey, Chief Executive of the ASAI, stated:
“The latest complaints bulletin from the ASAI shows the importance of our role in the Irish advertising industry, ensuring that advertisements are legal, truthful, decent and honest for all Irish consumers. The ASAI fully investigates all complaints thoroughly to ensure that advertisers in Ireland are not in breach of the high standards in the ASAI Code.”
“The ASAI also provides a free and confidential copy advice service to the advertising industry to help them create responsible ads that adhere to the advertising code. If an advertiser, agency, or medium has any concerns about a marketing communications’ compliance with the ASAI’s Code, they can contact us and avail of the free and confidential copy advice service.”
Below is a list of advertisements that have been found to be in breach of the ASAI Code:
| Advertiser | Medium | Complaint Category | Description | Complaint Status | Section Breached | Link |
| Hempture | Online (Company website) | Misleading / Substantiation |
The complainant considered advertising claims on the advertiser’s website misleading to consumers because they believed Hempture, the IIHA and EirLab were all owned by one company. The messages displayed on the advertiser’s website included: That Hempture have products certified by the IIHA. That Hempture have products tested by EirLab. That EirLab are the industry leader in Cannabinoid & Hemp testing analytics in Ireland and the EU.
|
Upheld |
3.10, 4.1, 4.4, 4.9 and 4.10 |
https://www.asai.ie/complaint/health-beauty-65/ |
|
University of Galway |
Brochure (University Prospectus 2020) |
Misleading / Substantiation |
Issue 1: The complainant considered the advertisement misleading as it stated tutorials were weekly when they were biweekly.
Issue 2: The complainant believed the advertisement was not clear in relation to the format of the course and how emphasis was mostly on self-teaching and self-learning.
Issue 3: The complainant said the validity of the claim that the course was ‘award-winning’ was hard to verify for a prospective student as the name of the award was not included in the advertisement.
|
Issue 1: Upheld
Issues 2 and 3: Not Upheld |
4.1 |
|
|
Virgin Media |
Electronic Media (Company Website) |
Misleading / Substantiation |
The complainant considered the sale advertisement misleading, as the pre-sale price available to customers was cheaper than that advertised by Virgin Media as the “sale” price.
|
Upheld |
4.1, 4.4 and 4.26 |
https://www.asai.ie/complaint/telecommunications-broadband-7/ |
| Airport Driving School | Online (Company’s Own Website) | Misleading / Substantiation |
The complainant considered the claim “Ireland’s most successful driving school” on the company’s website as misleading, as it was an unsubstantiated, superlative claim.
|
Upheld | 4.1, 4.9 and 4.10 | |
|
Bray Credit Union |
Radio |
Misleading / Substantiation |
The complainant said that Bray Credit Union did not present evidence to substantiate the claim “Join the best Credit Union in Wicklow.” The complainant also highlighted that the credit union only covered a small area and therefore could not claim to be the best in the whole county.
|
Upheld |
4.1, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.33 |
https://www.asai.ie/complaint/financial-16/ |
|
Steeltech Sheds Limited |
Online (Social Media) |
Decency & Propriety |
Issue 1: The complainant considered the advertisement to be offensive to victims of sexual assault and abuse.
Issue 2: The complainant said that the advertisement had used a person’s likeness without their permission.
|
Issue 1:
Upheld Issue 2: Upheld |
3.17, 3.20 and 3.27 | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/household-24/ |
| SuperValu Raheny (Musgraves) | Online (Social Media) | Alcohol |
Issue 1: The complainant said the advertisement was advertising alcohol on a site for people under the age of 18.
Issue 2: The ASAI challenged whether the person depicted in the advertisement was aged over 25.
|
Issue 1: Not Upheld
Issue 2: Upheld |
9.7(a) | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/alcohol-30/ |
|
Cassillero Del Diablo Wine (Richmond Marketing) |
Online (Social Media) |
Alcohol |
The complainant considered that the advertisement encouraged people to ignore any allergic reaction to substances in wine and take an antihistamine to continue drinking, suggesting that allergies are not serious.
|
Upheld | 3.3 and 9.8(f) | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/alcohol-31/ |
|
Lidl |
Brochure |
Misleading / Substantiation / Environmental |
The complainant considered an advertisement for a petrol lawnmower claiming to be “environmentally friendly with an effective silencer system and reduced exhaust emissions” as misleading. The complainant said that petrol engines are not environmentally friendly in any way and even if the lawnmower advertised had a motor that produced less pollution, it is still producing pollution.
|
Upheld |
4.1 and 15.2 |
|
|
Four Loko (Richmond Marketing) |
Online (Brand Social Media) |
Alcohol |
Issue 1: The complainant considered a post on the brands TikTok page to be in breach of the ASAI Alcohol code as there was no message to drink responsibly included.
Issue 2: The ASAI Executive did not consider the content of the advertisers TikTok account to be in conformity with the alcohol rules of the code. They referred the advertisers to four other posts on the page as a sample of the content uploaded and asked for their comments on the overall compliance of the content of the page and details of procedures in place to ensure compliance of the content.
|
Issue 1:
Upheld
Issue 2: Upheld |
9.4, 9.5(e), 9.7 and 9.8 | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/alcohol-32/ |
| Therapie Clinic | Online (Third Party Website/ Company Own Website) | Misleading / Substantiation / Price |
Issue 1: The complainant considered the pricing in the ad to be misleading. They said that the offer for hair removal for a specific area was €29.95 and that on the advertisers’ website the cheapest available price for that specific area was €42, with the requirement to buy 10 sessions to avail of that price, otherwise the price for one session was €62.
Issue 2: The complainant also raised an issue with the advertisers’ using models with red hair and darker skin tones in the ads on their website when in fact laser hair removal was not available for people with these features. |
Issue 1:
Upheld
Issue 2: Not Upheld |
4.1, 4.4 and 4.22 | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/health-beauty-66/?preview=true |
The following advertisements were investigated and the ASAI Complaints Committee found that they did not breach the Code on the grounds raised in the complaints.
| Advertiser | Medium | Complaint Category | Description | Complaint Status | Section Breached | Link |
|
Beshoff Bros |
Print (Magazine) |
Misleading / Substantiation / Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
|
The complainant objected to the statement ‘Try our nutritious & crisp fish and chips” in a magazine advertisement for Beshoff Bros on the grounds that they did not believe deep fried fish and chips could be considered nutritious as they were an unhealthy ‘obesity causing’ food that should be eaten in moderation.
|
Not Upheld |
N/A |
https://www.asai.ie/complaint/food-non-alcoholic-beverages-7/ |
|
Specsavers |
Radio |
Decency & Propriety |
The complainant considered the ad for Specsavers hearing aids, which featured a woman wearing hearing aids singing flatly, as offensive to deaf people. They considered that the ad exposed deaf people to ridicule and embarrassment.
|
Not Upheld | N/A | https://www.asai.ie/complaint/health-beauty-hearing-aids/ |
|
Aldi Stores (Ireland) Limited |
Television and Cinema |
Decency & Propriety |
Issue 1: All complainants considered the advertisement offensive as it had used sexual innuendo.
Issue 2: Several complainants objected to the ad on the grounds that it was inappropriate towards children given that the theme of the ad was based on what they considered a children’s film, and that the Kevin the carrot character was sold as a soft toy in the store and that a children’s charity was featured in the ad.
|
Issue 1: Not Upheld
Issue 2: Not Upheld |
N/A |
The ASAI chose to uphold one complaint made by an Intra-industry or Interested Party in the following case:
| Advertiser | Medium | Complaint Category | Description | Complaint Status | Section Breached | Link |
| Sky |
Radio, Television, Online (Third Party Media) and Point of Sale |
Misleading / Substantiation
|
The complainant considered that the advertisement for Sky broadband for €29 a month plus Sky Q Lite for €10 a month was misleading as it created the impression that Sky broadband was €29 and Sky Q Lite was only €10 when in fact Sky Broadband could not be purchased on its own at the price of €29. The complainant noted that the offer was advertised on the advertisers’ website as €39 and therefore they considered that it should not have been ‘decoupled’ on other media. They said that they had received queries from their own customers querying the offer which they considered showed that customers were confused by the advertisement. |
Upheld | 4.1, 4.4 and 4.6 |
https://www.asai.ie/complaint/telecommunications-broadband-8/ |
The ASAI chose to issue a statement in the following case:
| Advertiser | Medium | Complaint Category | Description | Complaint Status | Section Breached | Link |
|
Bar One Racing |
Radio |
Gambling |
The complainant considered that the claim to offer best odds guaranteed on all UK and Irish horse racing was misleading as they were able to source better odds with other bookmakers. |
Statement Issued |
N/A |
|
The ASAI conducts ongoing monitoring of advertising across all media and since 2007, has examined over 27,000 advertisements, with an overall compliance rate of 98 percent. The ASAI Monitoring Service monitors compliance with the Complaints Committee’s adjudications.
Media are reminded that advertisements found to be in breach of the Code cannot be accepted for publication.
Follow The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland on LinkedIn and Twitter @THE_ASAI
For further information, please contact:
Breda Brown / Viv Murphy – Unique Media
Tel: 01 5225200 / 087 6160846 (VM)
Editorial Notes:
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland is financed by the advertising industry and committed, in the public interest, to promoting the highest standards of marketing communications that is advertising, promotional marketing, and direct marketing. The objective is to ensure that all commercial marketing communications are ‘legal, decent, honest and truthful’.
Media are required to abide by the Code and not to publish an advertisement or conduct a promotion which contravenes Code rules. The Code covers commercial marketing communications and sales promotions in all media in Ireland including digital (online banners, websites, and social platforms), print, outdoor, radio, TV, leaflets/brochures, and direct marketing.
Further information on advertising self-regulation, the ASAI, and the operation
of the system is available at www.asai.ie
