ISPs still ‘mislead’ on broadband – BBC News

Posted July 27th, 2011 in advertising, codes of practice, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Broadband speeds in the UK now average 6.8Mbps (megabits per second) but there is still a huge gap between advertised and actual speeds, according to Ofcom.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th July 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

ASA says Cadbury was not racist when it compared Campbell to chocolate bar – The Independent

Posted June 21st, 2011 in advertising, complaints, food, news, racism by sally

“A Cadbury’s advertising campaign which compared Naomi Campbell to a bar of chocolate was not racist, the industry’s watchdog has ruled.”

Full story

The Independent, 21st June 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bailey review: companies must not pay children to promote products – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 6th, 2011 in advertising, children, internet, news by sally

“Toy, food, drinks, clothing and electronics companies will no longer be allowed to pay children to promote their products at school or on social networking websites, David Cameron will announce today as part of wide-ranging initiative to stem the commercialisation and sexualisation of children.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lawyers wrestle once again with vexed question of referral fees – The Guardian

Posted May 31st, 2011 in advertising, fees, Legal Services Board, news by sally

“Should lawyers be allowed to pay for work referred to them? The debate remains as heated today as it was in 2004 when the Law Society, under pressure from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), first allowed solicitors to pay so-called referral fees.”

Full story

The Guardian, 31st May 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Konsumentombudsmannen v Ving Sverige AB – WLR Daily

Posted May 31st, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, EC law, law reports by sally

Konsumentombudsmannen v Ving Sverige AB (Case C-122/10); [2011] WLR (D) 181

“A commercial communication constituted an ‘invitation to purchase’ within the meaning of article 2(i) of Parliament and Council Directive 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market, as soon as the information on the product and its price were sufficient for the consumer to be able to make a transactional decision. Information on price could be sufficient for those purposes where it contained an entry-level price and information on the product’s characteristics could be contained in a verbal or visual reference. It was sufficient for the purposes of providing the material information for an invitation to purchase required pursuant to article 7(4)(a) of the Directive for only certain of the product’s main characteristics to be given in that invitation and for the trader to refer in addition to its website, provided the essential information was on that website. Whether or not a reference to an entry-level price was misleading for the purposes of article 7(4)(c) was for the national court to ascertain in the circumstances of the case.”

WLR Daily, 12th May 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

MSD Sharp & Dohme GmbH v Merckle GmbH – WLR Daily

Posted May 17th, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, EC law, internet, law reports, medicines by sally

MSD Sharp & Dohme GmbH v Merckle GmbH (Case C-316/09); [2011] WLR (D) 159

“The dissemination on a website by a pharmaceutical undertaking of information relating to medicinal products available on medical prescription only, which consisted in the reproduction of the packaging, and in the literal and complete reproduction of the package leaflet or summary of the product’s characteristics, was not contrary to article 88(1)(a) of Parliament and Council Directive 2001/83/EC, as amended, prohibiting advertising to the general public of medicinal products available on medical prescription only. The dissemination of such information which had been rewritten by the manufacturer and which could only be explained by an advertising purpose was prohibited.”

WLR Daily, 5th May 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Thames Water’s amnesty ad banned after it failed to honour promise – BBC News

Posted May 13th, 2011 in advertising, news, water companies by sally

“A Thames Water radio advert has been banned after the firm failed to honour a promise not to back-date bills for people taking part in an amnesty.”

Full story

BBC News, 12th May 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Albert Court Residents Association and others) v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily

Posted April 15th, 2011 in advertising, law reports, licensing by sally

Regina (Albert Court Residents Association and others) v Westminster City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 430; [2011] WLR (D) 134

“Once the conditions set out in section 35(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 were satisfied, in the absence of any relevant representation, the applicant for the variation of a premises licence was entitled to the variation and it would be contrary to that entitlement for it to be undermined by a failure of the licensing authority to carry out a notification process not provided for by the Act.”

WLR Daily, 13th April 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Digital music player ads must not encourage copying, rules ad regulator – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 1st, 2011 in advertising, copyright, internet, news by sally

“A company must change the way it advertises its digital music player because the ads encourage people to copy music in a way that breached copyright law, the advertising industry regulator has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 31st March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Brothers jailed over Lapland New Forest park – BBC News

Posted March 18th, 2011 in advertising, news, sentencing, unfair commercial practices by sally

“Two brothers have been jailed for misleading thousands of customers at a Lapland-themed park on the Hampshire and Dorset border.”

Full story

BBC News, 18th March 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

ISPs must advertise average broadband speeds, not ‘up to’ speeds, says Ofcom – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 2nd, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

“ISPs should be forced to advertise the typical speeds available on internet access packages and not the theoretical maximum currently advertised, telecoms regulator Ofcom has said. They should also not be allowed to cap ‘unlimited’ services.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 2nd March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Advertising watchdog to monitor website words – BBC News

Posted March 1st, 2011 in advertising, internet, news by sally

“How companies talk about themselves on Twitter feeds or Facebook profiles is to be policed like adverts.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st March 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

OFT warns misleading ‘money advice’ firm

Posted February 22nd, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, debts, internet, news by sally

“The OFT has ordered Money Advice Direct Limited (MADL), a firm that introduces struggling borrowers to debt management companies, to stop using misleading advertising that presents it as a source of free help.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Brothers guilty of Lapland con – The Independent

Posted February 18th, 2011 in advertising, news, unfair commercial practices by sally

“Two brothers were convicted today of misleading thousands of customers into visiting a what they claimed was a Lapland-style theme park.”

Full story

The Independent, 18th February 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Product placement must be signalled by ‘P’ logo, says Ofcom – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 15th, 2011 in advertising, media, news by sally

“Broadcasters must show a ‘P’ logo for three seconds at the start and end of television programmes that contain product placement, regulator Ofcom has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 15th February 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

New powers to vet online adverts – BBC News

Posted February 14th, 2011 in advertising, internet, news by sally

“People who use the internet are about to get a new opportunity to complain about company websites.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th February 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Opium perfume ad banned over ‘simulated drug use’ – The Guardian

Posted February 3rd, 2011 in advertising, news by sally

“An ad for Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume that featured a woman who appeared to be under the influence of drugs has been banned by the advertising watchdog.”

Full story

The Guardian, 2nd February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Twitter endorsements face OFT clampdown – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2011 in advertising, internet, news by sally

“Watchdog says online companies who did not disclose paid-for promotions by celebrities and bloggers were deceptive.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Clampdown on claims marketing – Ministry of Justice

Posted January 7th, 2011 in advertising, claims management, compensation, consultations, press releases by sally

“Firms that offer cash incentives to attract people to make compensation claims through them – including for personal injuries – will be stopped under new proposals.”

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 6th January 2011

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Ofcom confirms product placement on UK TV – The Guardian

Posted December 20th, 2010 in advertising, media, news by sally

“Media regulator confirms new rules will form part of broadcasting code from end of February.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th December 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk