Facebook adverts for popular brands Huel and Zoe which featured “misleading” endorsements from Diary of a CEO and Dragon’s Den star Steven Bartlett have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ASA upheld complaints that the adverts failed to make it clear that the entrepreneur has commercial stakes in both firms.
The regulator found the adverts to have broken codes around “misleading advertising”, and ordered both Zoe and Huel to remove the adverts and ensure future ads include all commercial interests.
One of the adverts for popular gut health brand Zoe appeared on Facebook on 26 February and featured an image of Steven Bartlett with a Zoe patch on his arm, with an overlay which read “If you haven’t tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life”.
Zoe argued it would be clear to most consumers that when a well-known celebrity appears in advertising for a brand they are paid whether as part of a one-off appearance or a longer-running association.
It also felt using the #Ad was sufficient enough to make influencer advertising obviously identifiable.
However, the regulator held that because of the phrasing “give it a shot” and “it might just change your life”, the advert appeared to be a testimonial.
It said the omitted fact that Bartlett has a stake in the business (a fact which Zoe confirmed to the regulator) was necessary for the consumer to make an informed decision.
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest news sent straight to your inbox each morning
Similarly, the adverts for Huel (which is known for vitamin-enhanced products and meal replacements) appeared on Facebook on 18 February and 19 March, because they omitted to mention that Bartlett had held a position as a director.
The first advert featured an image of Huel’s Daily Greens product with text that stated ‘This is Huel’s best product’, attributing the quote to Steven Bartlett.
Meanwhile, the second showed two videos side-by-side, one featuring Bartlett.
Superimposed text between the two videos, text read “Is Huel actually nice?”.
Bartlett stated: “This is the best product that Huel have released” before the video cut to a man on his phone saying “I keep seeing this guy all over the internet talking about Huel”.
It then showed both men enjoying the product.
Huel said that it had been clear in media that Bartlett had invested in the business because he liked the products and felt that a sponsored label and the blue tick next to Bartlett’s name meant that it was clear he had a commercial relationship with the brand.
However, the ASA felt that while consumers would understand there was a commercial relationship between Bartlett and Huel, it wouldn’t be immediately clear that the entrepreneur also has a financial relationship with the firm.
A previous advert for Huel with Bartlett at the helm was banned in 2022 because it wasn’t obviously identifiable as a marketing communication.
The regulator’s decisions on the two popular brands come following a clampdown from the regulator on health claims – including an electrical device endorsed by Gemma Collins which claimed to treat depression.
In the week prior, the ASA also banned six supplements for claims they could treat depression and anxiety.
