Wine subscription service Wine52 has been reprimanded by the ASA over a duo of “misleading” promotional emails that failed to make the full terms and conditions of taking part clear.
The emails, sent to a Wine52 subscriber in April, contained details of how members could “earn” a free case of wine by referring friends to the service.
The first email said: “Fancy a free case on us? Send a delicious wine to your friends and earn a free case.” The second, meanwhile, explained: “Every time you refer a friend they get their first case at 50% off and you get a free case of wine.”
The complainant tried to take Wine52 up on both offers but did not qualify for a free case of wine. They subsequently challenged whether the promotions had been administered fairly.
In order for the referrer to qualify for a free case of wine, it was necessary for the referred customer to remain signed up for their second case at full price, terms and conditions on the Wine52 website stated.
The ASA acknowledged that promotions of this nature frequently contained links to more detailed information about offers advertised, and that terms and conditions were typically displayed on a separate webpage.
However, as the ads were not limited by time or space, there was no justification for not including the full information in the promotional email, the ASA said.
The requirement for the recipient to take out a full-price subscription in order for the referrer to receive a free case was a significant condition and its omission was likely to mislead, it ruled.
“Because the ads omitted significant conditions regarding how to participate, they were misleading and the promotions therefore breached the code,” the ASA said. “The promotions must not be run again in the forms complained of. We told Beer52 Ltd to ensure that ads for future promotions did not mislead by omitting significant conditions.”
Wine52 took “responsible advertising very seriously” and was “committed to meeting the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) guidelines”, a spokesman for Wine52 owner Beer52 said.
“Upon being notified of the ASA’s investigation, we launched a full review of our referral scheme communications,” said the spokesman. “We have identified the specific emails referenced in this case and have updated their wording to ensure the conditions of our free case referral offer are communicated more clearly.
“While we are disappointed that this oversight occurred, we believe it is an isolated incident, and that our referral scheme is widely understood by thousands of our members, with the full terms always available on our website.”
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