Advertisment
The advertisement was seen as a large outdoor billboard on Kennedy Street in Carlow and stated:
“211 burglaries in Carlow over the last year. Too many!”
Further text below this said “Don’t be alarmed. Be PhoneWatched” and featured the advertisers’ logo. Text also invited consumers to “call today” and promoted a free pack and installation.
Complaint
A complaint was received against the advertising by Carlow County Council.
The complainant stated that based on Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures, the advertisement was false, misleading and deceptive as it related to figures for Carlow and Kilkenny combined. They said that this had a negative impact on public perception and feelings of safety in Carlow Town and County, especially among the vulnerable living in their communities.
Response
The advertisers explained that the advertisement was part of both an outdoor and radio campaign run nationwide to highlight burglaries at a national and local level. They said that for the burglary levels, they always referred to the burglary statistics published by the CSO in the recorded crime report and the associated Garda divisions in which the figures corresponded to.
The advertisers clarified that the burglary figure in the advertisement in question referred to the previous 12 months from Quarter 2 (Q2) 2023 which was released in their reports in September (analysis period Q3 2022 – Q2 2023) as per the information on the CSO website.
The advertisers acknowledged that the figure referenced in the advertisement referred to the Carlow and Kilkenny Garda division. They said that while they provided the source for all consumers to refer to, as well as outlining that the figure was based on CSO data from September 2023 and referred to as per Garda divisions, they acknowledged that this should have been made clearer.
The advertiser said that it was never their intention to provoke fear but to highlight the risks of not having home security measures and to remind people that there are measures they can take to protect their home, including securing it with an alarm. The advertisers wished to apologise if the advertising caused any confusion or worry in the Carlow/Kilkenny region and said that they would work harder on clearer communication of these figures going forward.
They explained that they were informed of this complaint previously as it had arisen on a local radio station through a call-in on air. The advertisers said that following this, they instructed their media partner to take down the advertisement. Furthermore, in their CSO Regional release to Carlow media in the next quarterly crime report, they also acknowledged the great work done by the Gardaí in the Carlow communities to make them feel safer and to enforce the law so as not to induce any unnecessary fear.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered both the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted that the advertisement had since been withdrawn.
The Complaints Committee noted that the figure given within the advertisement was inaccurate and not representative of the number of burglaries which had taken place in Carlow over the previous year. As a result, the Committee considered that the advertisement was misleading with the potential to cause fear and distress and that it was therefore in breach of the Code at sections 3.23, 4.01, 4.04, 4.09 and 4.10.
Action Required:
The Complaints Committee told the advertisers to ensure that where figures were quoted in an advertisement in association with an identified location, they should relate to that location.
