The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) published six rulings this week, including its decision to ban an Instagram ad by influencer Meggan Kirkland.

Seen in November 2024, the ad was for a competition. To enter, participants had to like the post and tag a friend, subscribe to the influencer’s YouTube channel, follow her Instagram account, and share “the post to your story for a bonus entry”.

It was reported to the regulator after a complainant highlighted that the terms and conditions for the competition were not visible to the audience. The complainant also noted that the competition was not fair as they believed it was not possible to track who had shared the post to their story.

The ASA said: “We told Meggan Kirkland to ensure that her future marketing communications included all conditions where the omission of such conditions was likely to mislead, and to ensure future promotions were administered fairly. We also told her to ensure that conditions for entry were capable of being independently verified and to ensure that future promotions did not claim to offer bonus entries if they would not be considered when selecting a prize winner.”

SupplyLife

The watchdog made a string of other rulings including banning an ad from SupplyLife, a food intolerance tests retailer.

The ad was investigated after a complaint was made regarding the accuracy of a claim that the tests could help those suffering from food-related illnesses such as bloating and IBS.

The complainant challenged the ad on whether “the efficacy claims for the test to help with energy dips, unwanted weight and IBS symptoms could be substantiated.”

The ASA said: “The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Supplylife Group Ltd t/a SupplyLife not to state or imply that an elimination diet informed by their testing could help or alleviate food-related energy dips, unwanted weight, IBS or its symptoms.”

Ocean

The ASA banned two ads by Ocean Finance credit card. Seen on 27 November 2024, the paid-for Meta ad and display ad were flagged by the regulator’s AI Active Ad Monitoring system for encouraging consumers to “spend regularly on non-essential purchases on a credit card”.

According to the watchdog the campaign breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility). The regulator said: “We told Intelligent Lending Ltd to ensure that future ads did not irresponsibly encourage consumers to spend regularly on non-essential purchases using a credit card.”

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Flooring by Nature

An advertisement by flooring firm Floor by Nature was banned by the ASA after it claimed its wool carpets would “biodegrade at the end of their lives”.

The ad was banned on the basis the claim was unsubstantiated. It received a secondary complaint about another claim it made about whether its wool carpets were a “sustainable alternative to synthetic carpets”. The watchdog again ruled that the claim was unsubstantiated.

The ASA stated: “The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Floor Design Ltd t/a Flooring by Nature to ensure they held suitably robust substantiation for environmental claims, related to the full life cycle of a product where relevant. We also told them to ensure their ads made clear the actions consumers needed to take for the product to successfully biodegrade, and to make clear when they were only referring to part of a carpet.”

Secret Escapes

An advert from travel firm Secret Escapes was banned by the watchdog for potentially misleading consumers.

The ad was featured on the holiday agency’s website and claimed customers could get “up to -46% off today” on holidays to Bournemouth. Secret Escapes argued against the ban, highlighting that the “dates with the cheapest “from” price would not necessarily also have the biggest percentage discount”.

However, the regulator stated that consumers would think that the discount claim of “up to-46%” meant that the holiday agency offered the hotel room for 46% less than it was listed on the hotel’s website.

EDF

The ASA upheld a complaint against energy firm EDF, after it claimed the public could receive “zero-pound bills” if they installed solar panels.

The radio commercial stated: “Your electricity bill could be nil. Yep, nothing. Because when you install solar panels and a battery with EDF, you don’t just get electricity when it’s sunny, you can store it for a rainy day too.”

It went on to say: “For potential zero-pound bills, buy ten to twelve of our solar panels, a battery, and join Empower Exclusive.”

Complainants believed the radio advert was misleading as they believed the solar panels may not provide enough power to provide electricity during the winter. The regulator concluded the ad was “likely to mislead” and must not appear again in the form complained of.