September 11, 2017

The website for clothing retailer END advertised a prize draw for a pair of “Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Infant – Core White” trainers. Underneath the product description it said, “Draw Closes: 29/04/2017 @ 9:00 AM BST” with a link beneath which said, “Enter Draw”.

Following a complaint from a consumer who understood that the winner of the draw had to buy the shoes, the ASA considered that consumers would be likely to expect that the initial entry page for the prize draw contained all significant conditions that applied to the promotion. It also considered that most consumers would interpret a prize draw as referring to a competition where you would be rewarded with a free prize, not an opportunity to buy something.

While the terms and conditions were available elsewhere on the website and consumers who clicked to enter the draw were told the draw was to pay for the shoes, the ASA noted that this was not included in the initial marketing material. The ASA concluded that, because END did not make sufficiently clear the significant condition that the promotion was for an opportunity to make a purchase rather than for a free prize, the ad was misleading and breached CAP Code rules 8.17 and 8.17.1 (Significant conditions for promotions). To read ASA Ruling on Ashworth and Parker Ltd t/a END (30 August 2017) in full, click here.