Influencer posts banned over ad disclosure despite repeated warnings

An Instagram reel from Dawson, seen in September, promoted her own tanning product line and read: “The glow up is chuffin real all thanks to @dawsylicioustanning … too tanned to give a damn in ultra dark & shimmering in my sparkly moisturiser & smell fabulous with my hydration mist kweeen Chazza is ere!! & I’ve got 30% off everything yaaay use code CHAZZA30.”

Representatives for Dawson said she had not realised that the post needed to be labelled as an ad because it was a product from her own brand.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: “We told Charlotte Dawson to ensure that she made clear the commercial intent of her posts in future and that her ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications, for example, by including a clear and prominent identifier such as “#ad” at the start of the post.”

Dawson received the same warning from the ASA in July over a series of posts on her Instagram account promoting a make-up brand.

In a separate ruling, the ASA banned an Instagram post by former Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry advertising water bottles, which included a swipe-up link to a site where consumers could buy them, for failing to make clear it was an ad.

A representative for Ferry said she “would take care to ensure that future ads were appropriately labelled”.

In June, Ferry became one of four influencers to be the first to be named by the ASA for repeatedly failing to disclose ads on their social media.

She was listed on a new dedicated page on the regulator’s website as it escalated enforcement action against influencers who do not make it clear to followers when they have received payment for a post despite being put on notice.

Ferry remained on the list for three months and was subjected to enhanced spot checks by the ASA’s monitoring teams.

A third ruling against make-up artist and Scottish YouTube star Jamie Genevieve followed her posting on Instagram to promote several cosmetic products branded with the word “Vieve”.

Genevieve’s representative confirmed that she was paid a salary as a director of Vieve but did not believe the post was an ad because it was made on her personal Instagram account without remuneration and without editorial control by a third party.

The ASA said: “We concluded that the commercial intent behind the post was not made clear upfront and so it was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication.

“We told Jamie Genevieve to ensure that she made clear the commercial intent of her posts in future, and to ensure that her future posts were obviously identifiable as marketing communications, for example by including a clear and prominent identifier, such as ‘#ad’.”