ASA Judges Net Ad “Misleading”

Over half the population may use interactive technology (see Britain Embraces Interactive Technology) but some may still not be able to tell between an ad and a download, according to the judgement of the ASA this week. The advertising watchdog upheld a complaint against a banner advert placed on the BT website for being misleading, as a button which looked as if it cancelled a download actually took users through to the advertiser’s website.

The banner ad was for 888 Casino. A dialogue box appeared, with the statement “downloading”, flashing lights to indicate progress and a “cancel” button. When users clicked on the advert it took them through to the advertiser’s site. The complainant felt that the implication that a file was downloading was misleading and that the ad was designed to “shock people into pressing cancel”.

The advertisers defended themselves by pointing out that not only were banner ads now widespread but that “the internet attracted a relatively sophisticated audience who were familiar with and would be able to recognise banner ads.” This, their argument ran, would mean that users would identify that the graphic was an advert and that clicking on it would take them through to the advertised site. They also argued that users of the internet were being exposed to a wider range of advertising, which was sometimes bolder than traditional media, and that other advertisers used similar tactics. They denied deliberately trying to shock.

The ASA, however, considered that users were unlikely to understand that trying to press “cancel” would actually take them onto the site, and concluded that the ad was therefore misleading. It was noted that the advertisers had no intention of using the same ad again, but they were told not to take a similar approach in future.

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

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