Ad description
A press ad for a local e-cigarette store, Poynton Vapes, seen in the Macclesfield Express on 1 March 2017. The ad featured text which stated "POYNTON VAPES" and listed the store’s address, phone number, opening times and the URL "www.vapeclouduk.co.uk". Above the text, there was an image of the store’s interior where the word "Anarchist" and a logo could be seen on the far wall.
Issue
The local radio station Imagine FM, who were concerned that the ad promoted e-cigarettes in a newspaper, a medium in which unlicensed nicotine-containing e-cigarettes were prohibited, challenged whether the ad breached the Code.
Response
Vape Cloud UK said that the ad was solely intended to advertise the location of their new store in Poynton. They said they sold products that either did or did not contain nicotine, and that the "Anarchist" brand was an example of a brand that offered nicotine and non-nicotine based e-liquids. They said that they had decided to stop publishing the ad after receiving the complaint.
MEN Media Ltd t/a The Macclesfield Express said that the ad was intended to promote the shop rather than an individual product, which was illustrated by a general view of its interior. They said the "Anarchist" name and logo were only visible in the background and partially obscured by glare from the lights. They said the name and logo were not a feature of the ad, but were incidental to it.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that rule
22.12
22.12
Except for media targeted exclusively to the trade, advertisements with the direct or indirect effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and their components which are not licensed as medicines are not permitted in the following media:
* Newspapers, magazines and periodicals
* Online media and some other forms of electronic media
Factual claims about products are permitted on marketers’ own websites and, in certain circumstances, in other non-paid-for space online under the marketer’s control. Please refer to the Advertising Guidance.
of the CAP Code reflected a legislative ban contained in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) on the advertising of unlicensed, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes in certain media. The rule stated that, except for media targeted exclusively to the trade, “advertisements with the direct or indirect effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and their components which are not licensed as medicines” were not permitted in newspapers.
We understood, however, that the TRPR, and therefore rule
22.12
22.12
Except for media targeted exclusively to the trade, advertisements with the direct or indirect effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and their components which are not licensed as medicines are not permitted in the following media:
* Newspapers, magazines and periodicals
* Online media and some other forms of electronic media
Factual claims about products are permitted on marketers’ own websites and, in certain circumstances, in other non-paid-for space online under the marketer’s control. Please refer to the Advertising Guidance.
did not necessarily prohibit ads for e-cigarette businesses if those ads did not promote, directly or indirectly, specific unlicensed nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or their components.
The ad in question appeared in a local newspaper. None of Vape Cloud UK’s products were licensed as medicines, and they sold a variety of nicotine (and non-nicotine) based products. The question to consider was therefore whether the ad promoted – directly or indirectly – nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.
We acknowledged that the focus of the ad was on the e-cigarette store rather than any specific product. We understood that the store name, Poynton Vapes, and the website name, Vape Cloud UK, did not share a name with any nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, e-liquids or component products. Therefore, we considered that their inclusion in the ad did not indirectly promote a nicotine-containing e-cigarette or its components.
However, in the background of the image, on the back-wall of the store, was a logo accompanied by the name “Anarchist”, which we understood referred to a range of nicotine-containing and non-nicotine e-liquids. While we appreciated that the name and logo were incidental to the main message of the ad, we considered that they were nevertheless visible to readers of the ad and therefore had the effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-liquids. For that reason, we concluded that the ad breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
22.12
22.12
Except for media targeted exclusively to the trade, advertisements with the direct or indirect effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and their components which are not licensed as medicines are not permitted in the following media:
* Newspapers, magazines and periodicals
* Online media and some other forms of electronic media
Factual claims about products are permitted on marketers’ own websites and, in certain circumstances, in other non-paid-for space online under the marketer’s control. Please refer to the Advertising Guidance.
(Electronic Cigarettes).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Vape Cloud UK to ensure that their ads for their stores in media covered by the TRPR did not include the brand name or logo of any unlicensed, nicotine-containing e-cigarette or e-liquid.
