PrettyLittleThing in trouble again over ad campaign

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 21, 2024

Boohoo Group’s  Prettylittlething brand has again come under the scrutiny of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The body has reacted to a complaint about tweets made during the Black Friday trading period last November.

The ASA challenged whether some 15 posts misleadingly implied that the promotions applied to all products sold by the fashion brand, the absence of closing dates from ads, and the inclusion of closing dates from ads when promotional periods were shortened or extended. Together, the ASA says they breached the code, and the ads misleadingly implied that further discounts would not be available when the promotion ended.

Responding, PLT noted that Black Friday is a highly promotional period, its customers were value-oriented, and the advertising and marketing was reflective of what customers wanted and expected.

The company also said while it always tried to include significant conditions to promotions in ads, sometimes space was limited. It included information such as end dates and an asterisk with qualifying information where possible. Detailed further terms and conditions were on the website, which customers could review ahead of any purchase, it noted.

The ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again in the form investigated, although given that they appeared months ago for a specific 2023 selling season, that ruling seemed a little late!