ASA Ruling on Adidas UK Ltd – The ASA has ruled that an Instagram story by Tanya Burr, featuring a trench coat and Adidas trainers with an “OUTFIT LINKS” call to action, was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication. Although the story included an affiliate link that could earn commission, it lacked a clear and prominent identifier such as “ad.” Addidas stated that it had not contracted Ms Burr, and confirmed that Ms Burr used an affiliate link on Adidas products that had originated from their affiliate network AWIN. They said that they always required their creators to disclose paid content when they were included in their paid campaigns. Braveheart International Ltd t/a ALIGNE, said that they have specific guidelines re visibility of ads in their paid partnerships, but that they had not entered into a paid partnership with Ms Burr and instead had gifted her the trench coat. The ASA held that the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1, 2.3 and 2.4 (Recognition of marketing communications). Tanya Burr, Adidas, and ALIGNE must ensure future ads are easily recognizable as marketing communications and include clear indicators of their commercial intent.
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