Advertisment
The advertisement was a mobile pop-up on the advertisers’ website. It read: –
(in a bubble in the top left of the screen) ‘100% OFF ×2’
Beneath this it read: –
‘Get your 2 gifts now
100% OFF’
At this point there was a picture of an inflatable pool. Below this: –
‘Gift: Total 2 items
Offer: Free shipping
Shipping method: Royal Mail, EVRi, etc.’
Below this there was a call-to-action button which read: –
‘Get it in App’
Below this, the terms read: –
‘App New Users Only | min purchase required
24 hours from download | 50K+ selected products
*Free shipping (excluding items shipped from local warehouse). Download the app via the TEMU ad and get 2 …’
Complaint
The complainant considered the advertisement offer of two free gifts for ‘App New Users Only’ was misleading as they did not consider it was clear that the offer was only for new TEMU customers purchasing via the app. They said that they downloaded the app and after signing in, encountered a message which read ‘Sorry, the offer is for app new users with new devices’.
On contacting the advertisers, it was confirmed that they were ineligible for the promotion, The complainant believed this to be misleading as though they were not a new customer, they were a new user of the app and should have been eligible for the offer in the absence of any clarifying language that existing customers of the platform generally were ineligible.
Response
The advertisers responded that they take seriously advertising compliance and the clear presentation of clear promotional material. The advertisers said that under the applicable promotional rules, eligible new users could have taken part in the promotion. They said to qualify as an ‘Eligible New App User’, a user needed to download the Temu app and log in with a Temu account on the ‘relevant device’, activate the activity on the app within 24 hours of the first download on that device and have no previous purchases on Temu.
The advertisers said that these eligibility conditions were set out in the applicable rules made available in connection with the promotion. They said that the pop up had included a disclaimer referring to the eligibility conditions of the promotion. While the applicable rules set out these eligibility conditions, they conceded that the short-form wording in the pop-up could have highlighted the requirements more clearly.
They said that based on their account, the complainant was likely not an ‘Eligible New App User’ however they were not in a position to confirm this as they did not have details for the individual complainant.
The advertisers concluded by saying that they had taken steps to make the eligibility information clearer and that they had included a button in the customer’s journey that allowed for full viewing of the terms of the promotion. They also said that they had reviewed their customer service guidance for this promotion and had further clarified the relevant explanations so that their customer service teams can explain the eligibility requirements in a clearer, more consistent manner and help users better understand how those requirements apply to their account.
Conclusion
Conclusion:
Complaint Upheld
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response, including the actions taken to include further clarity on offers.
The Council considered the requirement of the Code that a marketing communication should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise (S. 4.1) and that advertisers should not exploit the credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of consumers (S. 4.4).
The Council considered that it was not clear from the advertisement that in addition to the restriction that the offer only applied to new users of the app, existing customers who had previously made purchases were not eligible. In the circumstances, the Council, therefore, considered the advertising to have been misleading by omission and found it in breach of Code sections 4.1 and 4.4.
Action Required:
As the original advertising had been withdrawn and then amended, there was no further action required. The Council reminded advertisers that all relevant terms should be readily available to consumers prior to engaging in a promotion.
