Ad description
A poster ad for Life, a pro-life enterprise, which appeared on the side of a bus, featured text that stated "Pregnant? Worried? We can help ... on-line counselling: [email protected] . Life. LOVING LIFE, OFFERING HOPE. Registered Charity no. XXXXXXX".
Issue
Two complainants challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that Life offered an impartial counselling service for pregnant women.
Response
Life 2009 t/a LIFE said they provided professional counselling that was non-directive and client-centred. They said counsellors did not have an active role in discussions, nor did they refer an individual to any outside body, except where the matter concerned criminal activity.
LIFE said counsellors would not provide advice unless an individual sought it from them. They said that if an individual asked for advice, the counsellor would make clear that responding would be a different activity from counselling. They said if asked, the counsellor could explain the LIFE housing service.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the ad invited individuals who were pregnant and worried to contact LIFE for help. The ad stated "Life LOVING LIFE. OFFERING HOPE" and featured an image of a mother's face beside a baby's face. However, those elements were not prominent in the overall context of the ad. We understood that counsellors could provide advice if it was sought by an individual and that they could provide information on the LIFE housing service that was described on the website as a "... comprehensive service [that] offers a real, practical alternative to abortion and prepares tenants for independent living with their children in the future". In that context, we considered the ad was likely to mislead as to the nature of the service provided.
CAP Code rule 12.24 12.24 Marketing communications for services offering advice on unplanned pregnancy must make clear if the service does not refer women directly for a termination. Given that terminations are lawful only in some circumstances, and are subject to particularly stringent requirements in Northern Ireland, marketers may wish to seek legal advice. stated that marketing communications for services offering advice on unplanned pregnancy must make clear if the service did not refer women directly for a termination. Whilst we noted LIFE's view that they offered a counselling service rather than advice, we considered the service they offered equated to offering advice for the purposes of the Code. We understood that LIFE did not refer women for a termination.
Because the ad did not make sufficiently clear the nature of the service provided and that it did not refer women for a termination, we concluded that the ad breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
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
12.24
12.24
Marketing communications for services offering advice on unplanned pregnancy must make clear if the service does not refer women directly for a termination. Given that terminations are lawful only in some circumstances, and are subject to particularly stringent requirements in Northern Ireland, marketers may wish to seek legal advice.
(Services offering advice on unplanned pregnancy).
Action
The claims must not appear again in their current form. We told LIFE to ensure that their marketing communications in future made clear that their service did not refer women directly for a termination.
