ASA ruling for misleading advertising 6th July 2016 13 July 2016 Reviewer: Arch from UK
139 of 276 people found this review helpful
Variety and Choice:
Quality:
Special Offers and Promotions:
Delivery Cost / Efficiency:
Value for Money / Price:
Ease of Use / Navigation:
Customer Support:
Overall Star Rating:
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint of misleading advertising in respect of a bouquet advertised on eflorist's web-site. The ruling was published on the ASA website (www.asa.org.uk) on 6th July 2016. The complainant believed that the image was not representative of the product received and therefore challenged whether the ad was misleading. The bouquet received did not contain the flowers in the image, there were considerably fewer flowers and it arrived flat-packed.
In their defence eFlorist stated that:
'text below the product image and at the bottom of the webpage made clear that their images were for illustration purposes only, that the content might vary and only the colours of the flowers (pink, lilac and mauve) were set. Therefore, their executing florist had met the order requirements of that particular design.'
Despite this the ASA considered that:
'consumers were likely to expect that while the product received might not be exactly as depicted in the image, the image was an accurate representation of the product they would receive in terms of volume, and the colours and types of flowers included... consumers were still likely to understand that any substitutions would be at a minimum and that the volume and overall colour scheme shown in the image would be maintained. Further, given the emphasis on the fact a local florist would create the bouquet, we considered consumers were likely to anticipate that the bouquet would arrive pre-arranged, ready to simply be placed in a vase or container.'
As a result ASA ruled that:
'The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told eFlorist to ensure that the images of their bouquets were representative of the product consumers would actually receive.'
Since then eflorist has removed the bouquet in question ('Parasol').
Looking at the website today the wording for other arrangements such as 'Wow' states:
'This florist choice mix of the finest, most vibrant stems will be hand-made and hand-delivered by our local florist. The image show (sic) is for illustration purposes and may vary.'
It will be interesting to see if customers purchasing from eflorist post 6th July 2016 are satisfied that the current advertisement makes it clear that the image for arrangements such as 'Wow' is for illustration purposes only and only the colours are set. Having taken the trouble to rule on this case the ASA will no doubt be keen to know that their ruling has been effective.
In summary, I would not recommend eFlorist to a friend.
