Ad description
Two paid-for Google search ads for Wellness Explorer, an online reviewer of food supplements, and the Wellness Explorer website www.wholesome-choices.com, seen 19 May 2022:
a. The first paid-for search ad appeared under the search term “best collagen supplement” and featured the heading “5 Top Collagen Supplements – 2022’s Collagen Ratings” with further text that stated “Learn About Collagen Benefits – We Did The Research For You. What Works And What To Avoid, What To Look For When Buying Collagen. Click Here To See Our Top Collagen Supplement Picks. Satisfaction Guarantee. See our Top 5 […]”. The ad linked to a page titled “5 Of The Best Collagen Supplements in 2022” on the Wellness Explorer website.
b. The second paid-for search ad appeared under the search term “vitamin b complex” and featured the heading “Best 5 Vitamin B Complex – 2022 B Complex Buyers Guide” with further text that stated “We Reviewed 5 Top UK Vitamin B Complex Brands. Find Out Which Are Worth The Money. What To Look For In A Vitamin B Complex. 5 Things To Consider Before Buying A Supplement. Trusted Reviews. See Our Top 5. Top UK Brands. Research-Backed”. The ad linked to a page titled “5 Of The Best B-Complex in 2022” on the Wellness Explorer website.
c. The pages on the Wellness Explorer Choices website titled “5 Of The Best Collagen Supplements in 2022” and “5 Of The Best B-Complex in 2022”, linked to from ads (a) and (b), featured text that stated “ADVERTISING FEATURE” at the top of the page. Each page featured information about the supplement type referred to in the search ads, including advice on how to choose between the range of products on the market and discussion of factors such as formulation, efficacy, potency, price and customer service.
Above a heading that stated “Our five best [supplement type referred to in search ad] picks”, each page listed 5 supplement products from different brands. Sections titled “What we like” and “What we don’t like” listed pros and cons of the featured products in bullet points. Another section titled “The Bottom Line” evaluated and explained Wellness Explorer’s assessment of the product.
Each page displayed a Purolabs product in the list’s number one spot. Various advantages of the Purolabs products were listed that related to factors including their formulation, efficacy potency, manufacturing process, online reviews and the brand’s customer service. The disadvantages listed were that the products were “regularly out of stock” and exclusively available online. A link that stated “Learn More >>” directed website visitors to the homepage of the PuroLabs website.
Just above that link, the page for collagen supplements featured small text that stated “This website has a direct monetary connection with Purolabs and receives financial compensation when you buy using our links. Rankings may be affected by the relationship we have with product manufacturers and we do not review all products in each category”. In the same position, the page for vitamin B complex instead featured text that stated “Results are based on the Wellness Explorer Rating System and do not necessarily reflect typical results from the use of these products”.
The pages’ footer included small text that stated “This site is an advertisement and does not review and rate all products in every category. This website is funded and operated by Purolabs who have an ownership interest in certain products featured on this website”. Text that stated “DISCLOSURE” on the pages’ footer linked website visitors to a page titled “Advertising Disclaimer” with text that stated “Wellness Explorer is a review and comparison website for health and wellness […] Wellness Explorer and its owners have a compensatory or proprietary relationship with some product manufacturers featured on this website. This compensation or ownership interest may affect how and where products appear on the site, including the order in which they appear”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads falsely implied that the marketer was acting for purposes outside its business and did not make their commercial intent clear.Response
Purolabs Nutrition Ltd t/a Purolabs & Wellness Explorer (Purolabs) confirmed that they owned and operated the Wellness Explorer website and had placed the paid-for search ads that linked to it.
They said that, after being notified of the ASA’s investigation, they had decided that their ads’ commercial intent was not sufficiently clear. They intended to discontinue the Wellness Explorer website so that it, and any search ads that linked to it, no longer appeared to consumers.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer was acting for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession. It further stated that marketing communications must make clear their commercial intent if that was not obvious from the context.
The ASA considered that both paid-for Google search ads were placed under search terms that would frequently be used by consumers who were interested in buying collagen or vitamin b complex supplements. In the case of ad (a), they were likely to be looking for specific product recommendations from an authoritative source.
Ad (a) included the heading “5 Top Collagen Supplements […]”, the claim “We Did The Research For You”, and text that stated “What Works And What To Avoid, What To Look For When Buying Collagen”. Ad (b) included the heading “Best 5 Vitamin B Complex […]”, the claim “We Reviewed 5 Top UK Vitamin B Complex Brands” and text that stated “Find Out Which Are Worth The Money. What To Look For In A Vitamin B Complex […] Trusted Reviews. Research-Backed”. We considered those claims gave the impression that Wellness Explorer provided independent reviews grounded in research and product testing, and positioned the website as an educational resource or buyer’s guide, the purpose of which was the promotion of informed consumer choice. In that context, we considered that the name “Wellness Explorer” reinforced that impression by implying that the site was an independent guide that aided consumers by surveying and evaluating the range of health products on the market. On that basis, we further considered that consumers would not expect the website to be owned and operated by a brand whose products it featured.
We therefore considered that consumers who clicked on ad (a) or (b) would land on the linked review pages under the impression they were visiting a website that provided unbiased, objective comparisons between a range of supplement products based on research and expertise. The review pages themselves featured detailed, non-product-specific introductions that included scientific language and contextual information, discussed the health benefits of taking the relevant supplement type and suggested criteria by which consumers should choose specific products. We considered that, in light of those elements, visitors were likely to assume that the review pages were editorial content from an educational resource. Furthermore, we considered that each page’s list of the “5 Best [supplement type referred to in search ad] picks” was presented as if its ordering, and the product-specific pros and cons, had resulted from genuine research and deliberation. However, we understood that was not the case, and Purolabs did not provide any evidence to support that it was.
The Wellness Explorer website was owned and operated by Purolabs Nutrition Ltd. We understood that every review page on the Wellness Explorer website placed a Purolabs product as its number one pick and gave a comparatively negative view of competitors’ products. The review pages, underneath their review of the top ranked Purolabs product, also included a link that directed visitors to the relevant product page on the Purolabs website, with the purpose of increasing traffic on that page.
We considered that the measures the advertiser had taken in an attempt to make the website’s commercial intent clear, including the “ADVERTISING FEATURE” label, the small print, and the page headed “Advertising Disclaimer”, were insufficient to counter the overall effect of the site’s content, layout and name, which we considered gave the false impression that Wellness Explorer was an independent buyer’s guide or reviews website.
Because the ads all presented Wellness Explorer as an independent buyer’s guide or reviews website, when that was not the case, we concluded that they did not make their commercial intent clear and falsely implied that Purolabs Nutrition Ltd was acting for purposes outside its business.
Ads (a), (b) and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1 2.1 Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such. 2.3 2.3 Marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession; marketing communications must make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context. (Recognition of marketing communications), 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.9 3.9 Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify. (Qualification).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Purolabs Nutrition Ltd t/a Purolabs & Wellness Explorer to ensure their ads made their commercial intent clear and did not falsely claim or imply they were acting for purposes outside their trade, for example by presenting websites over which they had control as independent review websites, including in paid-for search ads.
