Carlton Daniel

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The rising regulatory tide on environmental claims – Shell found in breach of the Advertising Standards Authority’s rules, again!

Last month, oil giant, Shell, was caught out again by UK regulator – the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA“) – for breaching its rules against making misleading environmental claims. Previous ASA ruling against Shell This latest ruling is reminiscent of a 2020 ASA ruling against Shell for a radio ad, where it used the claim “Drive … Continue Reading

Copyright protection for AI works: UK vs US

The use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) is growing, but whether AI-generated works can be protected by copyright remains unclear and the position is inconsistent across different jurisdictions including the UK and USA. A recent US case, concerning a comic book which included AI-generated images, offers an opportunity to contrast the two countries’ approaches to AI-generated … Continue Reading

The Rise of Influencer Marketing – Contractual Considerations

According to the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport report on influencer culture, the global sector is expected to grow from $6.0 billion in 2020 to $24.1 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 32%. Influencer marketing offers brands a unique opportunity to target and connect with online communities, using … Continue Reading

The Subvertising Movement: Protecting your Brand from “Brandalism”

The authors would like to thank Eben Kurtz for his valuable contribution to this post. Heard of the climate activists defacing advertisements, billboards and bus shelters? Brandalism is a recent anti-advertising movement which uses a brand’s own assets and marketing channels against the brand itself, through replacing legitimate advertisements with spoofs and parodies (known as “subvertising”). … Continue Reading

Rare Enforcement Notice Issued by UK Advertising Regulator for “Hot Air” Ads

On 9 March 2023, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) took the rare step of issuing an Enforcement Notice against any advertiser distributing ads for electric plug-in mini-heaters that claim – directly or indirectly – that such products are a viable alternative to central heating. As noted in our previous blog, the ASA recently banned a … Continue Reading

Greenwashing: A new UK Regulator Investigation and Further Guidance for Businesses

The authors wish to thank Eben Kurtz for his contributions to this post. In the first few months of 2023, the UK Regulator – the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) – continues to be active in cracking down on misleading green claims, this time targeting the fast-moving consumer goods industry (“FMCG”). At the end of … Continue Reading

UK Regulator Bans Misleading “Hot Air” Ads

The cost-of-living crisis is a concern for all consumers, with many carrying out research to understand ways that spending can be reduced. One major issue during the cold winter days is the cost of heating bills. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned four separate adverts which relate to electric plug-in mini heaters. All the … Continue Reading

Gambling on Top Flight Footballers: ASA Ruling

The Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) has issued its first ruling under the new rules that prohibit gambling ads with “strong appeal” to under-18s, providing a useful example as to how the new rules will be applied. Updated Gambling Ad Rules As covered in more detail in a previous article for this blog, on 1 October … Continue Reading

UK Regulators Step up the Pressure on Influencer Marketing: Principles for Platforms, Brands and Content Creators

Over the past few years the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been actively taking steps to address consumer protection concerns with sponsorships and endorsements within social media posts that have not been clearly disclosed. Indeed, the scale of the issue was highlighted in the Influencer Monitoring Report, published in March 2021 by another … Continue Reading

God Save the Queen’s Royal Warrant Holders

With gratitude to Heloise Morle for her contributions to this post. In a modern world of celebrity and influencer endorsements, there is arguably one endorsement that still trumps others: the Royal Warrant. The granting of an English monarch’s royal seals of approval dates back to 1155 – when King Henry II granted the Weavers’ Company … Continue Reading

UK regulators crack down on ‘greenwashing’

Within seven months[1] of the UK regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA“), announcing its review of green claims in the fashion retail sector, it has opened an investigation into such environmental claims made by various fashion businesses, including ASOS and George at Asda.  This comes less than a year after all businesses were put … Continue Reading

Crackdown on Gambling Ads Featuring Sports Stars: New Advertising Rules

As reported in our previous article published in 2019, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have been focussing for some time on protecting children and young persons through their regulation of gambling advertising. Under the current rules, gambling ads are prohibited only if they appeal ‘particularly’ to under-18s, which CAP considers means if an ad … Continue Reading

Regulator Advises UK Government on Possible Changes to Consumer and Competition Law to Support UK Green Goals

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA“) has published advice for the UK Government on changes that could be made to consumer and competition law to facilitate the UK achieving a “Net Zero” economy by 2050. Whilst the regulator does not consider that current law represents a barrier to such sustainability goal, the CMA nonetheless recommends … Continue Reading

UK Regulator Ramps Up Action Against Greenwashing

Following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (“CMA“) publication of the Green Claims Code (as discussed in our earlier blog), the UK regulator is now moving forward with its greenwashing investigation, currently focusing on the fashion industry, with additional industries expected to be reviewed in future.… Continue Reading

ASA Goes ‘Ad for Ad’ Against Non-Compliant Influencers

Brands and agencies are responsible for ensuring that influencer behaviour on social media complies with ad disclosure rule. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has introduced a novel approach to sanctioning influencers who consistently fail to disclose ads on their Instagram accounts. Earlier this month, the ASA announced that it will take out ads of its … Continue Reading

Practical Considerations for Prize Draws – New Guidance Issued by the ASA

Prize draws and promotions are a popular choice for brands to engage with its consumers, particularly through online social media platforms. As discussed in a previous blog post, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has emphasised that prize draws must comply with provisions of its CAP Code. Failing which one risks being in breach of … Continue Reading

The Rise of ‘Voice Cloning’ Provides More Evidence of the Need for Urgent Legal Reform in the UK

Earlier this year, we published our blog on the topic of ‘Deepfakes’, in which we argued that the rise of this technology necessitates urgent legal reform. Without the courts developing English law in a way that they are usually unwilling to do, the current position is that it is not well-suited to deal with the problems … Continue Reading

UK Regulators Show Unjustified Green Claims in Advertising the Red Light

“Green”, “organic”, “eco-friendly”, “recyclable”, “natural”. These are just a few ‘green claims’ that consumers are increasingly used to seeing on the products and services they buy. However, how accurate are these claims and are organisations using them correctly? UK regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has now published the Green Claims Code to help … Continue Reading

Incompetent #ad Disclosure – the ASA Issues Warning to Influencers

The ASA has issued a stark warning to advertisers: non-compliance with ASA rules on disclosures in advertising is rife and that is unacceptable. The regulator now plans to get tough with those in breach. We blog regularly on Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) scrutiny of advertising rules in the social media landscape. The ASA has now … Continue Reading
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