Ad description
A competition on an online baby blog site, www.two-tiny-terrors.blogspot.co.uk, stated "NasalGuard Cold&FluBLOCK worth £11.99 … ENTER TO WIN".
Issue
The complainant, who believed that they were announced as the winner, but had not received their prize, challenged whether the promotion was conducted fairly.
Response
Shay Noble did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Shay Noble'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 we told them to do so in future.
We understood the prize had not been delivered to the complainant and that Shay Noble had not provided evidence to show that it had been sent. Because of that, we concluded that they had not dealt fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants, which was a breach of the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 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), 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 8.1 8.1 Promoters are responsible for all aspects and all stages of their promotions. and 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. (Sales promotions), 8.14 8.14 Promoters must ensure that their promotions are conducted under proper supervision and make adequate resources available to administer them. Promoters, agencies and intermediaries should not give consumers justifiable grounds for complaint. 8.15.1 8.15.1 Promoters must award the prizes as described in their marketing communications or reasonable equivalents, normally within 30 days. and 8.16 8.16 [Rule deleted 30 April 2015]. (Administration) and 8.27 8.27 Withholding prizes (see rules 8.1 8.1 Promoters are responsible for all aspects and all stages of their promotions. .1 and 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. .2) is justified only if participants have not met the qualifying criteria set out clearly in the rules of the promotion. (Prize promotions).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Shay Noble to ensure they conducted their promotions equitably and dealt fairly and honourably with potential participants. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
1.7 3.1 8.1 8.14 8.15.1 8.16 8.2 8.27
