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ASA publishes a guidance checklist to help avoid publishing misleading advertisements

Jun 24, 2021 | ASA, Other

Link(s):Tick the boxes with our misleadingness checklist – ASA

Context

The ASA has published what it has referred to as a ‘misleadingness checklist’ to help firms avoid misleading consumers, including guidance on omitting material information and holding evidence for all objective claims.  All the guidance provided is absolutely aligned to the FCA’s ‘clear, fair and not misleading’ requirements and is in line with guidance published by the Regulators over many years (e.g., pricing, prominence, evidence etc.).

Key points to note

  • Complaints about potentially misleading advertising make up around 70% of the total number of complaints made to the ASA every year. To help firms avoid misleading consumers and make sure that their advertising isn’t contributing to such complaints, the ASA has created a simple checklist of some of the key things to consider.
  • Make sure that you have included all material information which applies to the product or service advertised, and do not mislead by presenting this information in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
  • Before making any objective claims in your ads, including objective comparisons and claims made in testimonials, you must ensure that you hold evidence which substantiates those claims.
  • Clarifications and qualifications may be necessary to clarify or expand on the meaning of a primary claim, explain limitations or conditions, or communicate any other material information.
  • Qualifications must be clear and prominent, and must not contradict the claims they qualify in a way which is likely to mislead. Text size, position, overall context, the significance of the information, and the nature of the medium will all affect whether a qualification is considered sufficiently prominent.
  • Although obvious exaggerations that the average consumer is unlikely to take literally are unlikely to mislead consumers, advertisers should ensure that they do not exaggerate the capability or performance of a product in a way which is likely to mislead.
  • Pricing should relate to the product advertised, and must include all non-optional charges (such as VAT and booking fees), and all applicable delivery charges.
  • If using an “up to” or “from” price claim, make sure a significant proportion is available at the price stated, and check the guidance on the use of free before claiming that you are offering anything for free.

Next actions

None – for information and awareness.