A recent Instagram post by influencer Aliyah Maria Bee (@aliyahmariabee) has landed her and Coco Shine in a bit of bother.
She could have been forgiven for thinking that it was pretty obvious to the average Instagram user that this was an affiliate ad - see the description below.
However, the post didn't include the magic ('get out of jail free') phrase "#ad" (or equivalent), and the ASA took a robust approach.
In the end, Aliyah agreed to take down the post. The ASA reminded Coco Shine and Aliyah that they were jointly responsible for ensuring that promotional activity conducted on Coco Shine’s behalf was compliant with the CAP Code, and referred the matter to the CAP Compliance Team.
The post read: “Morning y’all so recently I’ve been using this teeth whitener and I’m very happy with my results. It’s super affordable make sure you guys go check out @cocshineau (DISCOUNT CODE: ALIYAH40 for 40% off)”. [So] the post included the handle @cocoshineau and a personalised discount code “ALIYAH40” for followers to get 40% off Coco Shine’s teeth whitener. The text referred to Aliyah’s own personal experience in using the product. Additionally the image which accompanied the text was a ‘selfie’ of Aliyah holding the product in such a way that the labelling was clearly visible and the product was the primary focus. [However], in the absence of a clear identifier, such as “#ad”, [the ASA] concluded that the post was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication and that it breached the CAP Code.
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