The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two adverts for Nike and Sky because they use “dark pattern” techniques.
Dark patterns are deceptive designs that are carefully crafted in order to trick users into doing things – for instance taking part in subscriptions.
Sky came under fire for a Now TV website page which showed different membership options for purchasing a subscription but failed to clarify that a free trial would automatically renew with a charge.
In its defence Sky said that it believed the advert was clear to consumers, with consumers invited to select their preferred membership via the button “Choose your membership”. Sky also stated that all the conditions related to the free trial were included on the website and visible.
While the ASA acknowledged that the conditions were explained, because it felt the font was not clear in “size or clarity” it concluded that the advert was misleading and must not appear again in its current form.
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A paid-for social post on X for Nike which was first seen in December 2023 featuring an image of Nike trainers which appeared on the website The Sole Supplier with the text “Now just £26 at Nike! [exploding head emoji] [black heart emoji]”.
The ASA argued that the product, which was only available in sizes 3 to 6, was intended for older children and therefore ruled that the advert was misleading.
Nike made the argument that the advert was not misleading because a consumer could reasonably assume that there would be some kind of limitation for example in sizing.
In its defence The Sole Supplier highlighted that it guided users to more detailed information about the product.
However, the ASA ruled that the advert was misleading because there was nothing in the brief caption to indicate that the trainers were intended for older children or that the sizing was limited.
The regulator also noted that the average consumer would not consider £26 as a heavily discounted price for children’s trainers which are exempt from VAT, and ordered that the advert should not appear again in the form complained of.
Speaking to Marketing Beat, Conscious Advertising Network co-chair Harriet Kingaby said the “advertising industry has gone on about building trust for about ten years” but still needs to tackle this problem.
“The sector has got into a headspace of not really thinking of consumers as human beings, and thinking of people as to be profiled or targeted but not respected”.
“This isn’t just harmful for consumers, it’s harmful for the level of trust in our industry. When consumers don’t trust us it renders our advertising less effective.”
