Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and The Essence Vault Ltd (The Essence Vault)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 15 January 2025
Law stated as at: 6 March 2025
What happened:
On 26 October 2024, fragrance retailer The Essence Vault ran a paid-for video ad on a social media platform.
The ad showed two full-sized perfume bottles, one of which was a generic bottle with the text “OVER £100” and the other was a bottle of The Essence Vault product “Inspired By Lost Cherry – 444”, accompanied by the text “ONLY £4.95”.
The complainant challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that the full-size product was available to buy for £4.95.
In its response to the complaint, The Essence Vault stated that the ad had previously made clear that the price was “from” £4.95, and that the word “from” had been removed in error.
The ASA upheld the complaint on the basis that consumers would interpret the price claim of £4.95 as relating to the product shown in the ad, which was understood to be a 100 ml bottle.
In reality, The Essence Vault offered three different sizes of perfume: a 5 ml sample, a 30 ml bottle and a 100 ml bottle. The price £4.95 actually referred to the price for a 5ml sample rather than the 100 ml bottle. The price for the 100 ml bottle shown in the ad was £26.95. The ASA concluded that the price claim was misleading as it did not relate to the product shown in the ad. This was a breach of the UK Code’s of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (specifically of rules 3.1, 3.3 and 3.17), which require marketing statements and pricing claims to not mislead consumers by omitting or distorting information.
The ASA also considered whether the claim would have been upheld if the ad had made it clear that the price was “from £4.95”. They concluded that using a “from” price, which related to a sample, would still be likely to be misleading. In the absence of clear, prominent information highlighting that a sample of the product rather than the full-size product was being promoted, consumers were likely to understand that the ad was promoting a full-size version of the perfume.
The ASA concluded that the ad must not reappear in its current form and instructed The Essence Vault to ensure future pricing claims are not misleading and clearly indicate if the price pertains to a sample.
Why this matters:
When advertising a product that has different prices for different sizes, advertisers should ensure that the product promoted corresponds with the price claim featured in the ad so that there can be no uncertainty as to which product the advertised prices apply to.
If the price claim relates to a sample of the product rather than the full-size product, use of a “from” price may still be misleading without clear information that the price is for a sample and that that is what is depicted in the ad imagery (if applicable).
