Laura Ashley warned over 'misleading' advertising

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 19, 2018

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a series of promotional emails sent by Laura Ashley in January and February were ‘misleading’ and has warned the clothing and homeware company to not make savings claims unless they are substantiated.

This is not the first time Laura Ashley has been found in breach of ASA rules. Last year, a website and Facebook post for Laura Ashley were judged to be using ‘misleading’ claims by the British advertising watchdog.

Laura Ashley’s latest encounter with the regulator came after a person complained about four promotional emails sent by the brand in January and February 2018. The emails advertised discounts of up to 40% and 70%, saying the sale ended on 26 February.

However, the ASA found that some items remained at 40% off and other products were even given a 50% discount two days after the sale, which means that the savings claims did not represent genuine savings against the usual selling prices of the products.

Laura Ashley provided pricing information history of 16 products, and said the 40% off everything sale had been extended by one day due to difficulties experienced with the website.

In addition to banning the ads from appearing in their current form and warning against making savings claims unless they can be substantiated against the usual selling price of products, the ASA told Laura Ashley to make the terms and conditions of its promotional activities more clear.