The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

ASA Hampson Hughes Solicitors

Hampson Hughes “misleading” personal injury ad banned by ASA

Author

By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

March 5, 2014 | 2 min read

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a TV ad for Hampson Hughes Solicitors was misleading after it implied an offer of £2,000 up-front was available to all customers.

A voice over in the personal injury ad, which featured a character tripping over an exposed drain hole said: “"Accidents are never nice, but the £2,000 up-front on accepted cases from Hampson Hughes will make them a lot easier to deal with. Hampson Hughes. Finally something to feel good about."

On-screen text stated "£2,000 Ts & Cs apply".

The complainant, who understood there were significant conditions associated with receiving a £2,000 payment, challenged whether the ad was misleading.

Hampson Hughes defended the commercial and said: “The ad clearly stated that the £2,000 up-front payment was subject to acceptance of the case and made clear that the payment was not automatically awarded to clients”.

It added that it encouraged people to visit their website to view the full details of the terms and conditions associated with the offer.

In its assessment of the complaint, the ASA said: “Because we considered that the ad implied that all cases accepted by Hampson Hughes would receive an up-front payment of £2,000 when that was not the case, and because the ad excluded a significant limitation to the offer, we concluded that the ad was misleading”.

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

ASA Hampson Hughes Solicitors

More from ASA

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +