Advertisment
An Instagram story by the influencer featured the influencer and her daughter attaching ‘charms’ to Croc shoes. There was a link at the bottom of the story which read ‘Charms are linked’. Beneath this it read ‘I paid €2.99 for the pack of them’
The influencer’s profile picture and handle appeared in the top left-hand corner of the screen. The letter ‘F’ and part of another letter were visible between the profile picture and handle.
Complaint
The complainant said that the link on the story was an affiliate link. The complainant also observed that the influencer had ‘AF’ in small writing at the top left of the post which was obscured by the influencer’s profile picture. The complainant believed this was an attempt to hide any disclosure that it was advertising content.
Response
The influencer responded that their disclosure was visible.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld:
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the influencer’s response.
The Council noted the Code requirements that marketing communications should be clear that they are marketing communications (3.31) and should not misrepresent their true purpose such as being presented as user-generated content or independent reviews (3.32).
The Council noted the joint guidance published by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on disclosing advertising content, which provided that advertising content should have one of three primary labels as a disclosure; #AD, a platform provided tool, or #Gifted. They also noted that in addition to the primary label #AD, there were several secondary advertisement labels that could be used in addition to and following the primary label, including #Affiliate.
The Council noted that the primary disclosure (#ad) was not used. They also noted that while the text “AF” had appeared in the post from the story, presumably to denote that it was an ‘affiliate’ link, the correct secondary disclosure would have been #Affliate. The Council also noted that in some cases, the font colour, size and placement of the disclosure minimised its visibility or fully obscured it.
The Council considered that the advertising content had not been correctly identified as advertising material, and as such, was likely to mislead consumers as to the nature of the content. The Council concluded that the advertisement was in breach of Sections, 3.31, 3.32, 4.1, and 4.4 of the Code.
Action Required:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form. The Council reminded the influencer of the requirements of the Guidance in disclosing commercial content.
