FIFTEEN ADVERTISEMENTS WERE  submitted to the complaints committee of the  Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland’s (ASAI) in the past several months for being either inappropriate or misleading.

12 complaints were upheld by the authority, from companies such as Ryanair, Parcel Motel, Woodies DIY, Phonewatch and Randox Laboratories Limited.

Ryanair’s email advertising for car hire services was deemed misleading due to a complainant stating that the prices shown in the email were significantly less than the prices listed on the company’s actual website.

Four complaints were upheld relating to Randox Laboratories and claims made on their Covid-19 testing advertisements.

One complainant considered the advertisement on the company’s website which stated “results would be received by 11.59pm the next day” as misleading, as their test results were not received by 11.59pm the next day which resulted in them missing their flight.

Another complaint was by a consumer who believed Randox’s next day results advert was  contradicted by terms and conditions which stated that Covid-19 results would be notified within 48 hours of receipt at laboratory.

The ASAI chose to uphold one complaint against Phonewatch that was made by a company in the industry offering a similar service.

It found Phonewatch’s advert misleading to consumers as the complainant did not believe the claim “PhoneWatch customers are 4 times safer than any other home security provider according to statistics from the CSO burglary report and PhoneWatch ARC data” could be substantiated.

The complainant stated Phonewatch’s own alarm receiving data could not prove their service was safer than others.

They also requested evidence from the CSO burglary report.

Commenting on the latest ASAI rulings the Chief Executive of the ASAI, Orla Twomey, stated:

“The ASAI fully investigates all complaints thoroughly to ensure that advertisers in Ireland are adhering to the guidelines.”

“The ASAI also provides a free and confidential copy advice service to the advertising industry to help them create responsible ads that adhere to the advertising code. If an advertiser, agency, or medium has any concerns about a marketing communications’ compliance with the ASAI’s Code, they can contact us and avail of the free and confidential copy advice service.”

An in-store sales promotion from Woodies DIY was found to be misleading when a complainant submitted posters that were featured above logs stating “sale” but upon enquiring he was told the logs were not included in the sale.

A complaint about Parcel Motel was considered misleading because its website promoted parcel delivery between Ireland and the UK despite the fact the service was no longer available.

Among complaints that were rejected was an advert for Bulmers in which the “complainant considered that the reference to the calorie content of the product implied that it is healthy despite being an alcoholic beverage”.

A complaint that claimed the National Lotteries slogan: “90% of money spent on the national lottery goes back into the community” was lacking transparency was also rejected.