Advertisment
The leaflet advertisement for the Brass Fox restaurant in Wicklow featured regular menu items and also promotional items. A section entitled “Daily Deals” listed promotional prices available throughout the week for certain items on the menu.
Below this section ordering options for the restaurant were listed as follows:
“Collection & Delivery
12 noon – 9pm Daily
Phone
04 0000000/ 085 0000000
Online/App
To Order Online Scan the QR Code”
Complaint
The complainant said that the promoted daily deals were not available to purchase in the restaurant and he was advised by a staff member that they were only available to purchase through the app via the restaurant’s partnership with FlipDish. The complainant considered that as the promotional prices for the daily deals were only available to purchase through the restaurant’s partner app Flipdish and could not be purchased in the restaurant that it was misleading not to include this information in the advertisement.
Response
The advertisers failed to provide a response to the complaint.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaint. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to ensure that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.
The Committee noted the Code requirements that marketing communications should not contain claims – whether direct or indirect, expressed or implied – which a consumer would be likely to regard as being objectively true unless the objective truth of the claims can be substantiated (4.9). They also noted that relevant evidence should be sent without delay if requested by the ASAI and should be adequate to support both detailed claims and the overall impression created by the marketing communication (4.10).
The Committee noted that the complainant considered the advertising to be misleading as it had omitted relevant information. As the advertisers had not provided a response to the complaint or information to the contrary, the Committee concluded that the advertising was in breach of Sections 3.10, 4.1, 4.4, 4.5 .4.9, 4.10, 5.5, 5.15 and 5.16 of the Code.
Action Required:
The advertisement should not reappear in its current form.
