Advertisment
An in-store promotional poster stated:
“Unmissable Offers.
25% Off All Beauty*”
A footnote on the poster stated:
“*Subject to availability. Selected items only. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes sale and clearance items.”
Complaint
The complainant objected to the claim that the reduction was off “all” beauty when there were exclusions.
Response
The advertisers said that the promotion offered customers a 25% discount across their beauty range and that at the time of the offer, a large number of other promotions were ongoing in the Beauty department, which sat alongside this offer. These included, amongst others:
• 50% off Estee Lauder skincare set
• 50% off selected Clinique gift sets
• 25% off selected Clinique gift sets
• 50% off Apothecary star buy
They also said that there were two branded giftset offers available at a greatly discounted price (in excess of 25% off) when a specified spend threshold was met. They said that the qualifying products to reach that threshold were also included in the Promotion, albeit the giftsets themselves were available at their full ‘worth’ price if purchased entirely independently.
They said that primary limitation envisaged by their team was that it could not be used in conjunction with other offers. This was because such a use would enable consumers to effectively ‘double up’ on discounts to further reduce the promotional price (below the intended 25% reduction). They said that this key exclusion was made clear in point-of-sale material with prominent wording immediately beneath the Promotion. They said that the discount operated as intended at the point of purchase and consumers were not charged more than the applicable promotional price. They also said that their view at the time was that such restrictions were commonplace in retail promotions and were understood by consumers, nevertheless, whilst their view was that the presentation of the promotion was such that it was not misleading and there was certainly no intention to mislead, they did appreciate that there could be other interpretations in light of the complaint.
They said that they had taken the action of removing the promotional materials entirely and therefore, the Promotion had concluded, and was no longer being communicated to customers. This action was taken in the interest of complete cooperation with ASA Ireland and without admission of liability.
They confirmed that they would not run this Promotion again in the same form (where, for example, other discounts cannot be used on the same purchase). They said that internal guidance had recently been updated and reinforced to ensure that, where relevant, (i) key promotional conditions were presented as clearly as possible, and (ii) use of disclaimers was for the purpose of clarification on the offer being put across. They also said that they would continue to update their guidance to ensure compliance with the ASA decisions going forward.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council noted the advertisement had stated “25% Off All Beauty” and had included a statement that various exclusions applied. While the Council considered that it was reasonable for promotional offers to have terms and conditions and/or exclusions, the use of an absolute claim such as that an offer applied to “All” beauty when there were exclusions or terms involved, was misleading and therefore was in breach of Sections 4.1, 4.4, and 4.6 of the Code.
Action Required
The Council noted that the advertising had been removed and would not be run in the same format again.
The Council reminded advertisers that absolute language such as “All” must not be used when exclusions or terms applied.
