The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has upheld a complaint against a dating agency’s advertisement which claimed the agency was the only regulated one in Ireland.
The complaint, against an advert for Two’s Company aired on Sunshine 106.8, was brought by a rival agency, Intro Matchmaking, which pointed out that no regulator existed for the sector in Ireland.
Intro Matchmaking claimed the advertisment contained false and misleading statements.
The advert said Two’s Company was the “only regulated matchmaking agency in Ireland”. Intro said this statement could result in members of the public believing that the agency advertised is subject to government regulation when in fact no regulator exists.
The company said the advert could lead the public to believe that the service it provides is less reputable or trustworthy.
In response, Sunshine 106.8 said the agency was regulated by the Association of British Introduction Agencies (ABAI) – a non-government agency.
Upholding the complaint, BAI’s compliance committee noted that there is no specific regulation of dating services in Ireland, that the ABIA is an industry body instead of a regulator and that audiences would have been misled by the advert.
The broadcasting authority has also upheld complaints against a wind energy advertising campaign.
The complaints concerned a campaign entitled “The Power to Power Ourselves” which was coordinated by the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).
Two separate complaints were recieved from a Mr Francis Clauson about the wind energy advertisment on TV3 and RTÉ One.
Mr Clauson said the wind energy association, the national body representing the sector in Ireland, was a lobby group.
He said wind energy is a matter of significant political dispute and that the advert was in contravention of the ban on political advertising.
TV3 said political advertising is restricted for political parties, trade unions and charities which they believe the IWEA is not. It said the campaign was directed towards a commercial end, namely increasing the use of wind energy for commercial profit.
But the compliance committee upheld the complaint, noting that the advert was broadcast during the run-up to the general election and that an objective of the advertiser, the IWEA, is to lobby government with a view to supporting the development of wind energy and renewable energy sources in Ireland.
The same conclusion was reached on the advertisement as broadcast on RTÉ with the broadcaster offering a similar defence as TV3.
Where a programming complaint is upheld in whole or in part, the broadcaster concerned will broadcast the BAI compliance committee’s decision, if the committee believes it appropriate to do so.
