A LensWay UK sales promotion on its Facebook page for '10,000 free eyeglasses' has been found to breach advertising rules by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and must not be repeated in the same form.
A complainant challenged whether the '10,000 free eyeglasses' claim was misleading as he understood consumers received a discount voucher to the value of £59 at the checkout and that glasses over that price would incur a charge. Also, consumers had to pay shipping, handling and insurance costs.
LensWay argued that the giveaway was promoted solely through its Facebook page and a Frequently Asked Questions section pointed out that glasses marked 'coupon not applicable' were not eligible and delivery and insurance fees would apply to every order. It added that the promotion did not include a discount voucher, with no mention of a voucher in the ad or the FAQs.
The ASA considered the offer to mean consumers could purchase any pair of glasses with the discount code and said because the promotion did not make it clear that items marked 'coupon not applicable' were excluded from the offer, it was misleading.