Advertisment
The advertisement was seen as a post on the advertisers’ Facebook page and promoted a stock clearance sale. Text on the post stated:
“We are having a 📣📣MEGA STOCK CLEARANCE SALE📣📣 this weekend
✨✨4 DAYS ONLY✨✨
Starting this Thursday and must end Sunday.
Some Unbelievable Reductions | Up to 50% OFF across the store
Beds | Bedroom Furniture | Sofas & Dining all reduced!! 😳😳
INSTORE ONLY
ATHLONE📢CAVAN📢DUNDALK📢NAAS ROAD📢 NAVAN
#caffreysfurniture #Megasale #clearancesale #furnituresale #hugesales #salesalesale”.
An image included in the post featured a large red button with overlay text stating:
“From Thursday to Sunday – Stock Clearance Sale”.
Complaint
The complainant said that as they had previously purchased items at the Navan store, they contacted this branch to check on the level of stock of a bedside locker they were looking to purchase. However, they were informed that in-stock items were not included in the sale and that it was only certain floor models/former display items that needed to be cleared to allow room for new floor stock to be displayed. They therefore considered the advertisement to be misleading as it did not stipulate which items exactly were included in the sale.
The complainant said the advertisement did not give a link to any specific Terms and Conditions, and it stated that there was a stock clearance across the store and that beds, bedroom furniture, sofas & dining were all reduced up to 50% off. They said that this was the only specific piece of text identifying what was included in the sale. The complainant said that their understanding of the words ‘stock clearance’ would mean whatever the advertisers had in stock to sell in the listed departments was what would be included in the sale as per the advertisement.
Response
The advertisers said that they considered the advertisement to be in order and that it clearly stated there was a stock clearance sale which was instore only.
They explained that there were sections of each store being sold off, in particular discontinued or slow selling items, to make room for new ranges and products.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council considered the line “beds | bedroom furniture | sofas & dining all reduced” and noted the use of the word “all” within the line. They considered that when taken in context of the sentence, this implied that there was a reduction on all beds, bedroom furniture, sofas and dining furniture. The Council considered that ‘all’ was an absolute claim. If some products were excluded from the sale, the word ‘all’ should not have been used.
In light of the above, the Complaints Council considered that the advertisement was misleading and was therefore in breach of Code sections 4.01 and 4.04.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form.
