Context
In April, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) (the bodies that write the advertising Codes enforced by the ASA) introduced amendments to their rules to reflect new UK consumer law – the Unfair Commercial Practices (UCPs) provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The ASA has now published some brief guidance in relation to the key elements of the UCPs.
Key points to note and next actions
The key points highlighted in the ASA’s guidance are:
- Toughening standards to prevent drip pricing: where an ad features a price, advertisers should ensure that they are quoting the total price – inclusive of all fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer is unable to avoid if they purchase the product. More information on how to determine whether a fee is mandatory or optional, and whether it genuinely cannot be calculated in advance owing to the nature of the product, can be found in the CMA’s guidance on the UCP provisions.
- Ban on fake reviews: these are reviews that purport to be, but are not, based on a person’s genuine experience of a product or service. Rule 3.45 states that ads that include reviews must make clear where reviewers have been given an incentive to leave a review. That could include payment of an influencer to make content reviewing a product or offering consumers a voucher or entry into a prize draw if they leave a review. Such reviews must be clearly labelled to ensure consumers understand the context. The ASA’s pre-existing rules on testimonials (which include consumer reviews) continue to apply.
- Vulnerable consumers: Under the new legislation, ads do not have to be targeted solely at a vulnerable group to be considered from the perspective of that group when determining whether they are likely to mislead. Consumers may be more vulnerable as a result of their age, credulity, physical or mental health or the circumstances they are in (among other things). So, an ad aimed at a general audience could be considered by the ASA from the perspective of the average consumer with a physical disability, if there was reason to believe that it could have a particularly misleading impact on that group due to their characteristics. Be mindful of the impact your ad may have on vulnerable groups of consumers – could it be more likely to mislead specific groups?