Ad description
An in-app video ad for the app Lucky Goal, seen 25 November 2019, first showed the mobile phone screen of someone trying to order a pair of headphones on Amazon but who received a message which stated “Your credit card has been declined”. On-screen text displayed at the same time stated “Lucky Goal – Funny every day” and “New chances to Win Every Day!”. The ad then showed the user opening the Lucky Goal app, playing a game of roulette and winning $85. A quiz was then shown where two questions answered correctly resulted in the user winning $100. The user then won $54 on a scratch card. The ad ended with text which stated “LUCKY GOAL” and “PLAY. WIN. REDEEM” on-screen, underneath which were logos for Amazon and PayPal.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading, because it exaggerated the chances of winning prizes when using the app.Response
Lucky Go Studio did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.Assessment
Upheld The ASA was concerned by Lucky Go Studio’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future. We considered consumers would understand from the ad that users of the Lucky Goal app stood a reasonable chance of winning the sums of money featured in the ad and that they would be able to redeem any money they won. However, we received no information from the advertiser demonstrating that users had won and redeemed the sums featured. In the absence of such evidence, we concluded that the claim had not been substantiated and was therefore misleading. The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. 3.3 3.3 For advertisements that quote prices for an advertised product or service, material information [for the purposes of rule 3.2] includes: (Misleading advertising), 3.7 3.7 Advertisements must not falsely imply that the advertiser is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession. Advertisements must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context. (Substantiation) and 3.11 3.11 Qualifications must be presented clearly.BCAP has published guidance on superimposed text to help television broadcasters ensure compliance with rule 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. . The guidance is available at:
Use of superimposed text in television advertising (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Lucky Go Studio Ltd to ensure that they did not exaggerate the chances of winning a prize when using the Lucky Goal app. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
