Marketing Matters | Review of February 2025

Welcome to this months' edition of Marketing Matters, where we look at advertising and marketing (A&M) trends in the retail and consumer sector.

We will be looking at:

• Some of the key takeaways for A&M departments following November's ASA rulings.
• Other top ASA stories.

ASA rulings – key takeaways for your A&M departments

In February, the ASA handed down 22 rulings. We have highlighted some of the key rulings we think you and your A&M departments should be aware of.

Know the source of your customer reviews

An online wine retailer's Instagram story, seen in October 2024, showed a hand holding a bottle of champagne and a large wad of bank notes. The text over the image read "so cheap you'll think it's a scam…until the wine gets delivered". Five white stars appeared in green squares, resembling Trustpilot ratings, underneath the text.

The ad was brought to the ASA's attention by a complainant, challenging the retailer's misleading display and use of Trustpilot content. The company responded by clarifying that the review, seen on the Instagram story, was a review posted directly to their website. They also highlighted that they had a good Trustpilot rating, with an overall rating of 4.4, and had received thousands of 5-star reviews on Trustpilot.

The ASA considered that customers were likely to interpret the rating, depicting white stars on a green background, as being the official Trustpilot rating of the company. The ASA upheld that the rating appeared to be a 5-star Trustpilot rating, which the wine retailer was unable to evidence, and was therefore misleading.

Pose, camera angle and styling – a pitfall?

The ASA has banned an advert published by a clothing retailer for featuring an "unhealthily thin" model in digitally altered clothing. The website ad featured a model wearing 'Dark Blue Power Stretch Denim Leggings' sat on a wooden box, with legs extended closer towards the camera.

The retailer acknowledged that the model was slim, but that they had a healthy and toned physique. They also noted that their aim was to market the product in a way that was authentic and responsible and used models ranging from slim to plus size.

Though the ASA acknowledged that the model's face did not appear gaunt and did not display any protruding bones, they ruled that because the pose, camera angle and styling in the ad (specifically only one image of the model) strongly emphasised the slimness of the model's legs and considered that the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin. The shot appeared to have been taken from a lower angle, which accentuated the length of the model's legs and, therefore, their slimness. The model was also wearing pointed shoes, which the ASA considered to further add to the impression of the model's elongated legs.

The ad was concluded to be irresponsible and is another ruling in the ASA's long history of cracking down on the way brands portray models in advertising. The ASA's approach to the assessment of camera angle, positioning and pose could be applied to inanimate items as well as models. An approach to bear in mind when trying to elongate or distort.

Encouraging irresponsible spending on non-essential items

The ASA has ruled against a financing company for being irresponsible, encouraging consumers to spend regularly on non-essential purchases using a credit card. The ad featured text which read “IT’S BLACK FRIDAY”. “BLACK” was crossed out and replaced with “Just”, designed to appear as a handwritten correction to reinforce the message that Black Friday should be treated as any other day. Further text in the ad stated that up to £8,000 credit limit was available.

The company responded by stating “Just Friday” was meant to reduce the perceived need to rush into purchases. They also emphasised that the messages in the ad included wording such as "borrow and spend responsibly" and "spend savvy", thereby encouraging the importance of informed decision-making when it came to spending. The financing company's position was that their ad did the very opposite of what the ASA were challenging, and intended to reduce the hype around impulsive purchasing on Black Friday.

The ASA noted that the CAP code required marketers to ensure advertising was prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. It considered that reference to Black Friday put emphasis on using a credit product for the event, which typically offered savings on predominantly non-essential products (i.e. tech, beauty and clothing). Additionally, they considered that the addition of "Just", to read Just Friday", was likely to be understood by consumers to mean that they should regularly spend money on a credit card just because it was a Friday.

The ruling was the seventh this year where the ad in question was brought to the attention of the ASA for investigation following its use of the Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the Code.

Takeaways

The key takeaways from the ASA rulings this month are:

• Do not misleadingly imply that reviews and rating are from a third-party website: Tread carefully when repeating customer reviews in your advertisements. Know their source and make this clear to customers.
• Don't be caught out for distortion: Using camera angles, poses and styling are known tricks of the trade when it comes to advertising imagery. However, do not fall into the trap of overdoing.
• Be careful when encouraging spending: Try and refrain from undermining the importance of informed decision making when encouraging consumers to make a purchase.
• The ASA's continued use of its Active Monitoring system: As noted above, over the last two months alone, seven ads have been brought to the attention of the ASA for further investigation following the use of its proactive AI tool.

Top ASA stories last month

VAT in prices – to include or not to include?

VAT inclusive/exclusive prices are a recurring issue across industries and sectors, with the ASA receiving thousands of complaints. Pursuant to the CAP Code, prices in ads are required to include all non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers. The ASA's guidance is intended to support retailers/marketers to ensure their quotes comply with the rules.

Key pointers include:

• If any prospective buyer is likely to see the ad, be that an individual consumer or a business, and both are able to purchase the product, a VAT-inclusive price will need to be quoted.
• If a quote is VAT-exclusive, this will need to be clearly indicated to all buyers.
• If a quote is VAT exclusive, it will need to be prominently accompanies by the rate or amount of VAT.