Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for healthcare company Zoe, seen on 26 February 2024, featured an image of Steven Bartlett with a patch on his arm which contained the text “Zoe”. Text overlaying the image was a quote by Steven Bartlett which stated, “If you haven’t tried ZOE yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life.” Text below this stated “STEVEN BARTLETT”.
Issue
Two complainants, who understood Steven Bartlett was an investor in Zoe, challenged whether the omission of his commercial interest in the company from the ad was misleading.
Response
Zoe Ltd told us that Steven Bartlett was a well-known entrepreneur, investor, speaker, author, podcast host and television personality. He was familiar to many as a “Dragon” from the popular BBC One television series “Dragon’s Den”. He also published the best-selling book “The Diary of a CEO - 33 Laws for Business and Life” and hosted the podcast “The Diary of a CEO”.
Zoe further told us that when a well-known personality or celebrity appeared in advertising for a brand, the average consumer would understand that there was a commercial relationship between the brand and the individual and did not need to know the exact nature of that relationship. They would also typically assume that the individual had been paid to appear in the advertising, whether in the form of a one-off fee or as part of a longer-running association.
They said that since the post was obviously identifiable as an ad, then it was unclear exactly how the average consumer was misled by the omission of any additional information identifying the precise nature of Steven Bartlett’s commercial relationship with the company. The average consumer understood that Steven Bartlett was appearing in the ad in connection with a commercial relationship with Zoe and that his participation in the advertising earned him some financial reward. Zoe highlighted several prominent celebrities who had commercial relationships with well-known brands.
Zoe said that if they were obliged to include a specific disclosure about the nature of Steven Bartlett’s status as an investor in Zoe, this would have a wider impact on other brands and influencers. They believed it undermined the principle that ads on owned media are usually obviously identifiable as advertising and that “#Ad” was sufficient enough to make influencer advertising obviously identifiable as advertising.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information, which was information that the consumer needed to make informed decisions in relation to a product. The ASA acknowledged that the post was obviously identifiable as a marketing communication and Steven Bartlett was known to many through his role as a “Dragon” on “Dragons’ Den” and his other business-related enterprises. We understood that on Dragons’ Den he provided opinions on businesses and did not invest in most of them.
We considered that many consumers would interpret the ad as featuring a testimonial from Stephen Bartlett about the product provided by Zoe. We considered the phrasing “give it a shot”, “It might just change your life”, and “STEVEN BARTLETT” below the quote, which was reminiscent of how a customer might review a product, and of how an independent testimonial might be presented in an ad, emphasised that impression.
Steven Bartlett was an investor in Zoe, which we considered was material to consumers’ understanding of the ad and relevant in making an informed decision about the product. Because the ad omitted material information about Steven Bartlett being an investor in Zoe, we concluded that it was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Zoe Ltd to ensure that future ads did not misleadingly omit material information regarding commercial relationships.
