Scottish Power ad featuring George Clarke banned for resembling his TV show, leading viewers to think it wasn’t an advertisement.
The ad showed “George Clarke’s amazing green spaces.” Clarke talked about cool spaces. He mentioned tree houses and more. He spoke of “greener houses.”
He said green solutions came from Scottish Power. The ad showed “#ad” briefly. Some viewers complained about the ad. It looked too much like the TV show.
Scottish Power said it was clearly an ad. They mentioned their name. They used their logo. The logo appeared on a jacket. It was also at the end. A promotion signal was in 43 of the 60 seconds.
The ASA banned the ad. It looked too much like the show. The font and background were similar. The ASA said viewers thought it was the show. They thought they were watching a programme.
The ASA worried people would be confused. Viewers might miss that it was an ad. People could mistake it for the program itself. Scottish Power defended the ad. They liked the partnership with Clarke.
