Ad description
The product packaging for a Future Farm Future Burger, seen on 9 February 2024, featured a promotion. Text on the front of the packaging stated, “WIN £1000 BUY ME AND SCAN TO ENTER *T&C’S APPLY”. A QR code was in the centre of the text.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad breached the Code because it omitted the significant conditions of the promotion
Response
Future Farm Plant-Based Food UK Ltd t/a Future Farm did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Future Farm’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 them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
The CAP Code stated that promotions must communicate all applicable significant conditions where their omission was likely to mislead. Marketing communications that include a promotion and are significantly limited by time or space must include as much information about significant conditions as practicable and must direct consumers clearly to an easily accessible alternative source where all the significant conditions of the promotion are prominently stated. Participants should be able to retain those conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion.
We understood that there were no terms and conditions on the product packaging. In addition, when the QR code, also featured on the packaging, was scanned the consumer was taken to the Future Farm website, where the promotion’s significant terms and conditions were also not stated.
We understood that the terms and conditions of the promotion had been listed on a Future Farm Instagram post in December 2023. The post stated the prize was a “£1,000 shopping spree” made up of vouchers. In addition, the closing date for the promotion was 23:59 on 31 January 2024 and the winner would be drawn two weeks after that date and contacted by Future Farm directly, but not on social media. None of those details were on the packaging or landing page for the QR code, however.
We also understood the promotional pack was purchased by the complainant on 9 February 2024 and an entry was able to be submitted on 25 February 2024, after the closing date stated on Instagram. We did not know whether consumers making such entries had been excluded from the prize draw, having already made the decision to purchase a pack that did not include a closing date, or whether the closing date had been changed. However, closing dates must not be changed unless circumstances beyond the control of the promoter made it unavoidable and there would be no disadvantage to those who had already entered. We therefore considered the administration of the promotion was likely to breach the Code for those reasons.
In addition, we considered that the closing date, the nature of the prize (whether it was in cash or vouchers), how and when winners would be notified and how many prizes there were, were significant conditions, and because they had been omitted from the packaging, and not provided via an easily accessible alternative source, that the promotion again breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.7 (Unreasonable delay), 8.1 (Promotional marketing), 8.2, 8.17, 8.17.1, 8.17.4, 8.17.4.a, 8.17.4.e, 8.17.6, 8.18 (Significant conditions for promotions), 8.28, 8.28.4 (Prize promotions).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Future Farm Plant-Based Food UK Ltd t/a Future Farm to ensure that their future marketing communications included all significant conditions where the omissions of such conditions was likely to mislead. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
1.7 8.1 8.2 8.17 8.17.1 8.17.4 8.17.4.a 8.17.4.e 8.17.6 8.18 8.28 8.28.4
