Advertisment
The advertisement was an instore poster in the window of a franchised branch of Domino’s. It said: –
Free
2 Topping Personal
Pizza
Collection Only
Collection only. Create your own up to 2 toppings. Additional toppings charged as extra.
Premium crusts and bases charged as extra. Expires: 31/10/2025.
Below this a consumer was invited to scan a QR Code to download a ‘wallet pass’ to avail of the offer.
Below this, three branches were listed where one could avail of the offer.
Complaint
The complainant said that they had to use their phone number to add the wallet pass to their phone. A few days later they were alerted by a friend to the terms and conditions of the offer. They said that the terms and conditions said that one had to be a student to avail of the offer and that this was not mentioned or alluded to on the instore poster.
Response
The advertisers confirmed that the promotion was for a personal pizza with two toppings and that this promotion ran in stores in Limerick, Galway, and Sligo. They said that the promotion was exclusively for students and conceded that this information was not included on the poster. They said that all incorrect artwork had been removed and that their marketing team had been reminded of the importance of including all key terms and conditions on promotional materials.
Conclusion
Upheld:
The Independent Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council noted that the promotion was intended to be available to students only, however, the eligibility criteria had been omitted from the advertisement. The Council noted the requirements of the Code that an advertisement should not mislead by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise (S. 4.1) and that the terms and conditions in which a promotion is presented should be clear, complete and easy for the consumer to understand (S. 5.15).
The Council noted that the advertisement had been withdrawn, however, they considered that the exclusion of the fact that the offer was only available to students from the advertising was misleading and was therefore in breach of Sections 4.1, 4.4 and 5.15 (a) of the Code.
Action Required:
No further action as the advertisement had been withdrawn.
