Ireland’s advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint that a Phonewatch billboard in Co Carlow was misleading with the potential to cause fear and distress.
The poster, which stated: ‘211 burglaries in Carlow over the last year. Too many!’ was taken down after it became a topic of discussion on a local call-in radio show.
The figure came from the Central Statistics Office, but Phonewatch acknowledged it related to the Carlow and Kilkenny Garda division. The company said it provided the information source and referred to the Garda division but it agreed this should have been made clearer.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said figures quoted should relate to the location identified in the ad.
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The ASA on Wednesday released reports finding 11 ads breached the ASA code, while it did not uphold complaints about four further advertisements.
Among the complaints upheld was one a doctor made about an influencer and brand ambassador’s Instagram post telling a follower that oxygen treatment would “absolutely” aid their post-surgery recovery.
The influencer was responding to a follower’s question asking if oxygen treatment before their jaw surgery would be helpful.
Saying it “absolutely” would be “so beneficial” for any type of surgery, the influencer advised the follower to contact Amber Surgery.
The ASA complaints committee noted the type of oxygen advertised was non-prescriptive but was concerned that a medical treatment was being recommended to a person whose medical history was not known. The follower was also not advised to discuss the treatment with their healthcare provider.
The advertising breached a section the code relating to advertisers’ responsibility to consumers and society, the ASA concluded. It said advertisers who use influencers bear the onus of ensuring conformity with the advertising code.
Another complaint was upheld against home and gift retailer Carraig Donn over its email flagging a flash “20% Off Everything*” sale. The asterisk linked to text qualifying that exclusions apply.
The grievance came from a shopper who discovered at the checkout that the discount did not apply to many of the products in their online cart. The complainant argued that “everything” should mean everything without exception.
In response, Carraig Donn pointed to its reference to the sale’s limitations and contended the use of “everything” was an “industry norm” for flash sales. However, independent of customer feedback, the shop had changed the wording to “20% off Almost Everything” and it apologised for the customer being unhappy, the ASA said.
The authority considered that the use of an absolute claim when exclusions applied was “misleading” and a breach of the code.
The ASA rejected three complaints over a Domino’s Pizza television advert that depicted people fighting over pizza. One of the vignettes showed young men pushing each other as they ran to the front door for their delivery, while another featured an older woman putting a young man in a headlock as they fought to reach the pizza on the floor.
The authority said each of the complainants believed the ads promoted and condoned violence. One argued the image with the headlock promoted harmful stereotypes and triviliased domestic violence against men.
The ASA considered the exaggerated facial expressions and acting, the over-dramatic operatic music and the lack of distress. All of these features contributed to an “overall comedic tone”, it said.
The ASA did not believe the ads promoted or condoned violence or breached advertising standards.
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