September 24, 2018

CAP has published four online advice notes covering: closing dates; independent judges and observers; instant wins; and prizewinners.

In relation to the latter, CAP says that it will not, for the time being, administer rule 8.28.5, which states that promoters must publish or make available the full name and county of all major prize winners, as it is in the process of working on changes to the rules to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

Closing dates: CAP reminds marketers that closing dates are listed in rule 8.17 as being a significant condition which ought to be included in marketing communications where not doing so could be misleading. Whether or not it is potentially acceptable to amend a closing date of a sales promotion will depend on the circumstances. However, the advice note states, in practice, such circumstances are “extremely limited”.

Independent judges and observers: requirements for independent observers and judges are there, CAP says, to ensure that prize promotions are administered properly and are seen to have been administered properly. A promoter who can provide evidence from an independent judge or observer will be in a stronger position to respond should the ASA investigate complaints that a promotion is unfair, the advice note states. Whether it is necessary to have an independent person, and what would be considered suitably “independent” depends on the circumstances and on whether a prize draw or a competition is being run.

Instant wins: instant wins are prize draws in which consumers either get their winnings at once or know immediately whether they have won. Promoters should ensure that, if they cannot provide the winnings immediately, winners are able to find out what they have won and how to claim and can claim without delay or administrative barriers. Instant-win tickets, prizes, tokens or numbers should be awarded in a fair and random way that has been independently audited (rule 8.25). If running an on-pack promotion, the terms and conditions that are necessary for the consumer to decide whether to participate should be stated on the outside of the packaging. Marketers need to ensure that on-pack claims do not contradict each other and that the information provided is accurate.

Prizewinners: Promoters should make select winners randomly or independently, make a reasonable attempt to inform winners and award the prize. Importantly, in terms of announcing prize winners, the advice note states that, following a consultation, CAP is working on changes to its rules on the collection and use of data for marketing to ensure that they cover data protection issues most relevant to marketing, and are aligned with the GDPR. Until this work is completed, the ASA will not administer rule 8.28.5, which states that promoters must publish or make available the full name and county of all major prizewinners.

To access the advice notes, click here.