Background
Summary of council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
An Instagram post by Meggan Kirkland (@meggangrubb), posted on 11 November 2024, included a caption which stated, “And for the fifth year running, we’re officially back with our huge Christmas GIVEAWAY!! […] SO to enter my annual rather large festive giveaway this year and to be in with the chance of winning over £4000 worth of goodies, all you need to do is […]”, a list of bullet points stated, “like this post + tag a friend in the comments”, “subscribe to my YouTube channel - linked in my bio”, “make sure you’re following my insta @meggangrubb” and “share this post to your story for a bonus entry! Giveaway is open worldwide + ends 1st December 2024 at midnight! Good luck girlies!! […] I will be the only person announcing the winner so please ignore any accounts that may contact you falsely”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the promotion breached the Code because:
1. the terms and conditions were not accessible to participants; and
2. they believed it was not administered fairly because it was not possible to track who had shared the post as an Instagram Story, and who would therefore qualify for a bonus entry.
Response
1. Meggan Kirkland’s representative said they would pin the terms and conditions to the post in future promotions.
2. Meggan Kirkland’s representative said regarding the condition that entrants could share the post to their story for a bonus entry, it was understood that for entrants with private Instagram accounts, story shares could not be directly verified due to platform restrictions. However, sharing the post to Instagram Stories was clearly outlined as a bonus entry rather than a mandatory requirement. That ensured that such entries did not compromise the fairness of the selection process, as they were supplementary to the core entry criteria. They said they would be able to see if an account had mentioned Meggan within her DM (direct message) requests and she could ask for a screenshot as proof if needed. They said Meggan checked the bonus entries when they appeared in her DM requests.They said Meggan carefully reviewed and verified all requirements that could be checked via Instagram’s tools, such as liking the post, tagging a friend and following @meggangrubb. They used an online tool to randomly select the winner from the comments after ensuring these key elements were met, while keeping the process fair, user-friendly and considerate of participants’ privacy.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that participants must be able to retain conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion. In addition, prize promotions must specify on all marketing communications or other material referring to them, where the omission of the information was likely to mislead, details including any restriction on the number of entries, how and when winners would be notified of results and any intention to use winners in post-event publicity.We noted that the post contained the conditions, “Giveaway is open worldwide + ends 1st December 2024 at midnight”. However, it did not contain or provide any information on where to find additional conditions, such as any restriction on the number of entries, specifically how and when winners would be notified and any intention to use winners in publicity.
We welcomed Meggan Kirkland’s willingness to make the full terms and conditions accessible to entrants in future promotions, however, at the time the promotion was posted, they were not displayed or otherwise signposted. We considered that any condition which affected entry, and the results of the promotion, would be relevant to entrants when making a decision to take part in the promotion and should be clearly made available. Therefore, because the terms and conditions were not clear before, or at the time of entry, and easily accessible throughout the promotion, the ad breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.28, 8.28.1, 8.28.4 and 8.28.9 (Prize promotions).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code required promoters to conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters were required to avoid causing unnecessary disappointment.
We understood that the promotion allowed entrants to qualify for a bonus entry by sharing the promotional post as an Instagram Story. We acknowledged that sharing the post to Instagram Stories was outlined as a bonus entry rather than a mandatory requirement and understood that Meggan checked the bonus entries when they appeared in her DM requests. However, Meggan’s representative confirmed that for entrants with private Instagram accounts, story shares could not be directly verified due to platform restrictions. We therefore considered it would not be possible for Meggan to identify whether the entrants with private Instagram accounts had qualified for a bonus entry.
We noted that Meggan Kirkland had used Instagram’s tools to review and verify the requirements that could be checked, such as liking the post, tagging a friend and following @meggangrubb and that they used an independent third-party website to randomly select the winner from the comments after ensuring some of the entry requirements were met. However, we understood that data from the post would not show who had shared the post as an Instagram Story from a private account. We therefore considered that entrants who shared the post as a story from a private Instagram account would not increase their chances of winning the prize by doing so.As such, we concluded that the promotion was not administered fairly and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.2 (Promotional Marketing General) and 8.14 (Administration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Meggan Kirkland to ensure that her future marketing communications included all conditions where the omission of such conditions was likely to mislead, and to ensure future promotions were administered fairly. We also told her to ensure that conditions for entry were capable of being independently verified and to ensure that future promotions did not claim to offer bonus entries if they would not be considered when selecting a prize winner.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
8.2 8.14 8.28 8.28.1 8.28.4 8.28.9
