Ms Hinch’s Instagram postings were prohibited after she failed to make it apparent to her followers that she was advertising her own products.
Sophie Hinchliffe, whose Mrs Hinch Instagram account full of housekeeping suggestions has 4.6 million followers, shared a story on January 7 last year displaying a notebook full of writing and the text: ‘If you’re a bit nuts like me tap here for yours’.
Clicking the link on the article directed people to the correct purchase page on the Amazon website and the movie finished with the front cover of the notebook which proclaimed ‘Mrs Hinch Life in Lists’ while Sophie declared: ‘In my own notebook of course’.
The post received 34 complaints because it was not clearly recognised as an advertisement for her own notebook.
Sophie acknowledged that the notebook was her own design and that it was still available in numerous stores, but she thought it was apparent that the post was an advertisement and that she was pushing her own product.
She stated that she would be pleased to add the word “ad” in future social media postings that featured links to her own items.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated that the post’s commercial objective was ‘ambiguous,’ and that it would have been expected to carry a conspicuous label identifying it as an ad.
The ASA observed that the phrase ‘Mrs Hinch Life in Lists’ and her assertion that it was ‘In my own notebook of course’ occurred at the conclusion of the ad, concluding: ‘We considered that it was not immediately evident as to Ms Hinchliffe’s commercial relationship with the notebook’.
It ruled the ad must not appear again.
In a related decision, the ASA prohibited another Instagram picture dated January 27, last year, in which the influencer presented heart-shaped dishes of varied sizes with the text: ‘On a right roll here. Even put some ‘nibbles’ (In my own hinch heart bowls, I love em) #hinchxtesco [sic]’.
Viewers protested once more that she had not made it apparent that she was promoting her own product line.
Tesco stated that it had no influence over the advertisements and hence did not consider them to be from or linked to the retailer.
Sophie and Tesco both stated that the celebrity got royalties for the goods in her collection, but that the advertisement was not part of their deal, which terminated on November 1, 2021.
Sophie stated that the advertisement was made ‘organically,’ not as part of any responsibility to sell the items.
She added that the article was comparable to her type of non-ad content that she made while relaxing or cooking at home.
Similarly with the initial ruling, Sophie stated that she would include a ‘ad’ label in the future when showcasing things she produced and would do so for up to 12 months after the products were available for purchase.
‘Although the language may have given consumers some indication that Ms Hinchliffe had been involved in developing the bowls, it was not clearly made plain, and we concluded that it was also not apparent that she got royalties from their sale,’ stated the ASA.
‘We also understood that the ad was similar in style to non-ad content created by Sophie Hinchliffe who, as a home cleaning influencer, often shared lifestyle tips on Instagram.
‘As such, we considered that it needed to be made explicitly clear when content such as this, where she offered advice to her followers, was linked to a commercial deal that benefited her financially’.
It ruled that the ad must not appear again.
Source My Celebrity Life.