ASA investigates Opodo flight prices
Online travel agent Opodo quoted prices for flights that included a pre-applied discount which was only available using pre-pay Visa card Entropay. Was this misleading? Jude King reports.
All Articles in Misleading advertising
Did US-style native ad disclosures work for Dylon ad on BuzzFeed?
“14 Laundry Fails we’ve all experienced” was the headline, then appeared “Brand Publisher” and a Dylon logo, but the style was of a BuzzFeed editorial. Was the ad obviously identifiable as such? Stephen Groom reports on the ASA decision.
Was Heathrow Express really every 15 minutes?
“Heathrow to Central London in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes” said the Heathrow Express website. The advertiser said this was their “core message.” But was it misleading? Chloe Deng reports on the ASA finding after a complaint was received.
Ads suggesting Mexican soda was made from apples cause furore
Mexicans love sugary soda drinks. One soda, Sidral Mundet, contains 60 grams of sugar per 600 gram bottle, but it was the apple content that came to the fore in complaints over Coca Cola’s ads for it. Chloe Dumoulin-Richet reports.
Face Forward 2016: What will be the key marketing law milestones of the year to come?
At Osborne Clarke’s 17th “Look Back, Face Forward” marketing law forum on 2 December 2015, Jude King and Stephen Groom made their predictions. Catch their slides here.
Intellectual Property Office sues “Intellectual Property Agency Ltd”
The IPO was not impressed by a confusingly named trader sending renewal notices to trade mark and patent owners, demanding more than the IPO’s standard fees. It sued, alleging passing off and trade mark infringement. Varuni Paranavitane reports.
Duesseldorf court finds “Einhorn” condom claims misleading
The challenged pack promised “1 package, containing 7 pieces, equivalent to up to 21 orgasms.” Competitor Fair Squared filed for an interim injunction, alleging this was misleading. Stephan Bahner of Osborne Clarke Cologne reports on the court’s decision.
Fast food wars as In-N-Out Burger sues DoorDash in California
US chain In-N-Out Burger has sued take-out middleman “DoorDash” alleging it is using In-N-Out’s trade marks and selling its food in breach of the chain’s rights. Jamie Heatly reports on a case with interesting implications given the burgeoning takeaway delivery market.
CMA investigates fake reviews
Following a wide review of online advertorials, estimating that online reviews potentially influenced £23bn of consumer spending a year, the CMA is now investigating selective publication of reviews and lack of transparency around those that are published. Ben Poole reports.
Ryanair calls on Google to take more action to protect consumers from alleged “lookalike” screenscraper sites such as eDreams
Budget airline Ryanair has called on Google to take more action to protect consumers from “lookalike” screenscraper sites. eDreams is one of the sites Ryanair has named, but eDreams denies any wrongdoing. Thomas Spanyol reports.
New official price claims guidance looms
Following mounting criticism of the current, 2010-published BIS Pricing Practices Guide, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute is consulting on proposed new guidance following input from the Competition and Markets Authority and Which? Claire Temple reports
New unfair contract terms guidance from the CMA
Amongst many other things the Consumer Rights Act 2015 has replaced the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999. To mark the occasion the Competition and Markets Authority has published new Unfair Contract Terms Guidance. Chloe Deng reports.
