ASA raps SpicerHaart again for misleading ad
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The Advertising Standards Authority has banned another advertisement from the SpicerHaart Group, trading as Darlows.
The ASA banned four advertisements from the SpicerHaart Group last year and three in 2009.
The latest ad to be banned is a leaflet which included the text “Darlows are part of the UK’s largest independent estate agency group. We advertise more extensively that our competitors both online and offline …”.
A circular ad also included the text “Why should you choose Darlows? The UKs largest independent agency … multi-award winning agent”.
Kelvin Francis Estate Agents challenged whether the first claim could be substantiated because it believed other local estate agents advertised more.
It also challenged whether the claim “multi-award winning agent” could be substantiated because it believed the advertiser had only won one runner-up place in recent years.
It also felt the term “independent” was misleading because it understood Darlows of Llanishen were part of the Spicerhaart Group, a limited company owned by shareholders.
The ASA considered that the claim “We advertise more extensively than our competitors both online and offline …” had not been substantiated and concluded that the ad breached the Code.
Darlows did however supply documentary evidence which showed they had won two industry awards in the past five years, however the ASA considered that the average consumer would interpret the text “multi-award winning agent” as a claim that Darlows had won more than two awards in recent years and therefore concluded that the claim was misleading.
The ASA also found that although Darlows of Llanishen generated income from its individual sales, it was ultimately owned and controlled by the SpicerHaart Group. It concluded that the phrase “Independent” did not make clear that Darlows was one of a group of agencies operating under the umbrella of SpicerHaart Group Ltd and therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.
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