Retailer apologises for error, with such advertising banned in case it discourages breastfeeding
Online adverts for Boots for four infant formula products broke advertising rules designed to protect breastfeeding, the advertising watchdog has found.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) made the ruling in response to a complaint that the health and beauty retailer’s infant formula products had been advertised on Google.
Continue reading...Supermarkets, pubs and advertisers the winners as supporters prepare for match against Spain
Supermarkets, pubs and TV advertisers are preparing to enjoy a bumper weekend as football fans rush to celebrate the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday morning.
As many as 13.7 million people are expected to tune in when the Lionesses take on Spain in the highly anticipated fixture in Australia – the first time a senior England football team has appeared in a World Cup final since 1966.
Continue reading...Facebook and Instagram’s parent company will stop harvesting audience data to create profiles for advertisers after regulatory rulings
Facebook and Instagram are to ask EU users for permission to show them personalised adverts, in a concession that challenges the platforms’ core money-making strategy.
The social media networks’ parent company, Meta, announced the change after a series of regulatory rulings struck down the company’s legal justification for harvesting audience data to create user profiles that can be targeted by advertisers.
Continue reading...Average was once every 16 seconds across 10 matches last season, with a total of 3,522 in West Ham v Chelsea
Betting company logos appear as often as 3,500 times during the course of a televised football match, the majority on pitchside hoardings, prompting renewed scepticism about top-flight clubs’ plan to give up front-of-shirt betting ads only.
A study led by psychology experts from four universities measured the volume of gambling adverts during 10 matches that took place last season, featuring every Premier League club.
Continue reading...Advertising Standards Authority rules against two promoted tweets featuring Premier League coaches
The advertising watchdog has banned two adverts run by the sports betting business Ladbrokes for appealing to under-18s by featuring well-known Premier League managers including Frank Lampard and Eddie Howe.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the two promoted tweets, published in January and February, after concerns that the use of images of managers of top flight teams would break UK rules banning ads that have a “strong appeal” to young people under 18 years old.
Continue reading...At-risk children between 12 and 17 reported seeing promotions from a wide range of sources including their homes, school and social media
Young people are being “inundated” with gambling ads in their everyday lives, particularly sports betting ads and social casino games, amid unprecedented levels of exposure for at-risk adolescents.
Children between 12 and 17 who are at risk of becoming problem gamblers reported a wide range of sources that promote gambling, including in their home, school, social, digital and media environments.
Continue reading...National party MPs argue it is a ‘legitimate industry’ and that it should be ‘managed appropriately’ to avoid commercial stations suffering
National party MPs Barnaby Joyce and Keith Pitt have warned against a total ban on online gambling ads, arguing it is a “legitimate industry” that can be managed with less extensive measures.
The pair are the first federal MPs to caution against the plan proposed by a parliamentary inquiry, which has raised concerns from television broadcasters about loss of gambling ad revenue.
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Continue reading...Ban will apply worldwide to all of media group’s online and print outlets, including the Guardian, Observer, and Guardian Weekly
The Guardian has announced a global ban on gambling advertising, arguing it is unethical to take money from services that can lead to “addiction and financial ruin”.
Anna Bateson, the chief executive of Guardian Media Group, said advertising – particularly online – could trap gamblers in an “addictive cycle” that caused financial distress, mental health issues and wider social problems.
Continue reading...Competition commission accuses firm of favouring its own services to detriment of rivals
The EU has ordered Google to sell part of its advertising business, as the bloc’s competition regulator steps up its enforcement of big tech’s monopolies.
The competition commission said it had taken issue “with Google favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers”.
Continue reading...Advertising Standards Authority says ads do not make clear company’s business is mostly based on fossil fuels
An ad campaign by Shell promoting its green initiatives has been banned for not telling consumers that most of its business is based on environmentally damaging fossil fuels such as petrol.
Shell, which has set goals to become a net zero carbon energy company by 2050 while also expanding its gas business by a fifth, ran a TV, poster and YouTube campaign pushing renewable electricity, wind and car charging point initiatives.
Continue reading...Two more companies can now run ads targeting young people and women on social media platform
Australian social media users will see more sports gambling ads after TikTok quietly expanded a controversial trial of wagering partnerships despite widespread criticism.
The decision to increase ads could undermine any federal government action to restrict broadcast promotions, with researchers warning that gambling companies are one step ahead of regulators and are targeting new demographics.
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Continue reading...Peter Dutton has proposed betting advertising be restricted but prime minister says review into the issue is under way
Anthony Albanese has declared he finds the barrage of betting advertisements during sporting matches “annoying” after opposition leader Peter Dutton proposed a ban because “footy time is family time”.
In an interview with Guardian Australian, the prime minister said he would not directly comment on any plans to ban this advertising, saying there was a review under way.
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Continue reading...ASA reports rise in complaints about ads that mislead customers about benefits of treatments like Botox
The advertising watchdog is banning growing numbers of advertisements that exaggerate the benefits of health and beauty treatments such as Botox, lip fillers and diet aids.
The Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) action is part of a crackdown against beauty clinics and manufacturers of aesthetic products over how they promote themselves.
Continue reading...Concerns raised about links between ads, increased betting and risky behaviour, as well as prevalence of chances to gamble
Australians predominantly support greater restrictions and bans on gambling advertising, which a new study has found to have influenced young and vulnerable people to start betting, place “impulse” wagers or escalate their gambling behaviour.
The research, by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, found that 38% of the adult population gambled at least weekly. Three in four Australians gambled at least once during the past 12 months and, of those, almost half (46%) were classified as being at some risk of harm from wagering.
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Continue reading...Airline claim that it was protecting the world’s future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules
An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”.
Continue reading...Legislation could see companies fined millions of pounds for making unproven environmental assertions to sell their products
When the hydrogen-powered Hyundai Nexo car was launched in the UK in the spring of 2019, it was described as “so beautifully clean” that it “purifies the air as it goes”.
Hyundai Motor UK claimed that if 10,000 of its cars were on the road, carbon emission reduction would be “equivalent to planting 60,000 trees”.
Continue reading...Talenthouse claims to ‘democratise creativity’, but designers who have completed commissions for top brands are out of pocket
It is a global technology platform that claims to “democratise creativity” by allowing up-and-coming artists to submit work to the world’s biggest brands.
But Talenthouse, which boasts clients including Netflix, Sony, Coca-Cola and the United Nations, has been accused of exploiting artists and failing to pay them, in some cases leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Continue reading...Financial watchdog warns over rise of ‘fin-fluencers’ targeting younger people on social media
More than 10,000 misleading financial promotions and scams aimed at consumers via social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok have been identified and targeted by the financial watchdog during the past year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the use of social media marketing channels and the rise of so-called “fin-fluencers” – particularly directing investment products at younger age groups – exploded last year, resulting in a record number of takedown notices and alerts.
Continue reading...Influencers who are in breach of the Australian Consumer Law can face penalties of up to $2.5m
Australia’s consumer watchdog is embarking on a dob-in-an-influencer campaign targeting social media stars who fail to declare their posts as advertisements.
This week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) put out a call on social media, asking the public to send in examples of influencers who appeared to be promoting a brand or product online without disclosing it was an ad.
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Continue reading...Irish regulator fines Facebook owner €390m after EU rejects argument for use of data to drive personalised ads
The business model of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta empire has been dealt a blow following a ruling that its legal justification for targeting users with personalised ads broke EU data laws.
Campaigners said the move could force the Facebook and Instagram owner to ask users to “opt in” to having their data used for targeted ads.
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