ASA bans estate agent ad
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The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an advertisement from estate agent Churchills.
The press ad stated “by appointing Churchills as your trusted estate agent in the sale of your property you will also give yourself an excellent opportunity of winning a beautiful car worth £7,000 plus … for further details about how simple it is to win a car, please contact your local branch as below”.
The complainant challenged whether the ad was in breach of the Code because it did not provide the terms and conditions of the prize promotion.
The ASA was concerned by Churchill’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 2.6. It reminded Churchills of its responsibility to respond promptly to its enquiries.
It ruled that the ad omitted information on how consumers could participate in the promotion, the relevant eligibility criteria and the closing date, contrary to the requirements of the CAP Code.
It ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form. It told Churchills to ensure that future promotions included full terms and conditions.
Readers' comments (2)
William Kingsley | 21 Jul 2010 12:40 pm
Sounds like a bitter local rival has complained and not a member of the public. The law is an ass when it penalises an entrepreneurial firm in this way. Let businesses try and win business in any fair way that they want.
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Anonymous | 21 Jul 2010 2:57 pm
"Let businesses try and win business in any fair way that they want".
But the advert wasn't fair was it? That's why they banned it...
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