Ad description
A TV ad for Scottish Power, seen on Channel 4 on 18 July 2024 and 25 July 2024, featured a video of tree leaves and overlayed text which stated, “GEORGE CLARKE’S amazing GREEN spaces”. George Clarke then featured and said, “I’ve seen some amazing spaces all around the UK. From great tree houses, to log cabins, and house boats. Oh, and don’t forget about the hobbit house in Gwent, that was truly amazing.” As houses of each colour were shown, he continued, “From yellow houses, blue houses, pink houses, and … greener houses, like this one. Of course, it’s not about the colour, it’s all about the green solutions provided by Scottish Power. So why not make your amazing space even more amazing by turning it a little greener.”
The first 12 seconds of the ad contained the text “#ad” in the top right corner. From 26 seconds to 35 seconds into the advert, superimposed text at the bottom stated, “Scottish Power supply products from third party manufacturers and installations are carried out by approved partners”. Superimposed text then stated, “Scottish Power products are not available in Northern Ireland”, and finally “Our domestic green tariffs are backed by 100% green electricity, made by our windfarms in the UK”. The end of the ad featured the Scottish Power logo which had the text “Scottish Power”.
Issue
Three complainants challenged whether the ad was obviously distinguishable from the “George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces” television programme.
Response
ScottishPower Energy Retail Ltd (Scottish Power) explained that they believed the ad was clearly recognisable as such throughout. They included the text “ad” in the top right corner for the first 12 seconds, which was shown throughout the headline text displayed at the beginning and during George Clarke’s introductory remarks. They said that the addition of the hashtag made it immediately recognisable as an ad. Furthermore, the text was in plain typeface and was in a strongly contrasting colour from the background.
They further stated that there were then three separate additional sets of text, and two of them specifically mentioned Scottish Power products. There were also three verbal references to Scottish Power within George Clarke’s dialogue. The Scottish Power logo further featured on the back of the jacket of one individual, and the end frame contained the Scottish Power logo. Overall, 43 seconds out of the total 60-second ad contained a visual identifier which signalled to the viewer that it was an ad.
Scottish Power said that there was a sponsorship ident for a different company, shown for five seconds on either side of the central ad break, and at the start and end of the programme. The ad followed the sponsorship content and ads for other products also followed the Scottish Power ad. Therefore, the audience would have quickly identified that it was an ad and therefore distinct from editorial content.Channel 4 reiterated points made by Scottish Power. They further stated the ad was a typical length and did not occupy the whole commercial break. The content of the ad also did not mirror the editorial themes of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. For instance, no properties were reviewed in the way in which they were in George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, and the ad did not feature contributors transforming small spaces, as they did in the show.
Clearcast said, the duration of the text “ad” on screen, the superimposed text outlining Scottish Power’s products and the Scottish Power branding on the individual’s uniform, and in the final frame, was sufficient to distinguish the content as an ad.
Assessment
Upheld
The BCAP Code stated that broadcast ads must be obviously distinguishable from editorial content, especially if they used a situation, performance or style reminiscent of editorial content, to prevent the audience being confused between the two, and the audience should quickly recognise the message as an ad. In addition, the use of a title, logo, set or music associated with a programme needed special care, and television ads must not refer to themselves in a way that might lead viewers to believe they were watching a programme.
The ASA understood that the ad was aired during ad breaks around “George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces” television programme and we assessed it in that context. The ad started with the headline text “GEORGE CLARKE’S amazing GREEN spaces”, which was the same font and style as the headline text presented at the beginning of the programme. The text was also set against a background of greenery, which was the same way it was presented in his show. Furthermore, immediately after that text was shown, the ad featured George Clarke discussing “amazing spaces” he had seen in the UK, which included the imagery and description of various houses. He continued as the presenter with dialogue throughout the remainder of the ad.
We acknowledged that the text “ad” featured in the top right corner for the first 12 seconds. However, we considered that was insufficient to mitigate the other elements in the ad, which were reminiscent of “George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces” television programme. The text “ad” was also relatively small in the top right-hand corner and was in the same colour and a similar font to the headline text presented in the middle of the screen. We considered that this meant it was likely to be overlooked. As such, we considered viewers were likely to believe, at least initially, that they were watching a programme.
We acknowledged that Scottish Power and their products were referenced from approximately halfway through the ad. The Code stated that the audience should be able to quickly recognise the message as an ad. However, the Scottish Power references and the mention of products appeared after a significant portion of the ad had already aired. We further acknowledged that there was sponsorship content separating the ad from programme content, which related to a different company. However, the ad was in any case required to be quickly recognisable as such and be distinguished from editorial content. Given the similarity between the beginning of the ad and the television programme, we considered the audience were likely to interpret the ad as programme content.
For the reasons given, we considered viewers were unlikely to quickly recognise the message as an ad distinguishable from editorial content and were instead likely to believe they were watching a programme.
We therefore concluded that the ad breached the Code.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 2.1, 2.3, and 2.4.1 (Recognition of advertising).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told ScottishPower Energy Retail Ltd to ensure that future ads were obviously distinguishable from editorial content, did not refer to themselves in a way that might lead viewers to believe they were watching a programme and were quickly recognisable as advertising.
