Two Instagram stories posted by household cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for failing to clearly identify the videos as advertisements.
While one Instagram story saw the content creator promote a Mrs Hinch notebook, the other post saw the influencer advertise heart-shaped bowls in partnership with Tesco.
A total 34 complainants contacted the ASA to challenged whether the notebook video was obviously identifiable as marketing communications.
Despite Sophie Hinchliffe’s pleas that she believed she was doing the right thing and that it was clear the two Instagram stories were ads, the advertising watchdog ultimately ruled that there was no “clear and upfront identifier such as #ad” that made the public clear of Mrs Hinch’s commercial intent.
As for the influencer’s promotions for the heart-shaped bowls in partnership with Tesco, eight complainants contacted the ASA for similar reasons.
While the supermarket stated that it had no control of the ads and that Mrs Hinch was not a brand ambassador, Sophie Hinchliffe added that both ads were created organically and were not created as part of an obligation to market the products.
Nevertheless, the ad authority ruled that the ads “must not appear again in the form complained of.”
“We told Sophie Hinchliffe to ensure that in future her ads, including those which featured her own Hinch range, were obviously identifiable as marketing communications and made clear their commercial intent upfront, for example, by including a clear and prominent identifier such as “#ad” at a minimum.”
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Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB) director general, Scott Guthrie added: “Sophie Hinchliffe’s formal response to the complaint demonstrates that she and her team thought they had followed due process, carefully. I suspect there will be more cases like this one in the near future as more creators develop their own products.
“2023 is the year that creator-owned, creator-run businesses come to the fore. We’re seeing many great examples, from MrBeast Burgers and Feastables to KSI and Logan Paul Prime Hydration, David Dobrik pizzas – Doughbrik, Emma Chamberlain’s eponymous coffee brand. The list goes on. And this is just the beginning.
“However, we’re also seeing a spate of rulings by the ASA upholding complaints that some creators are failing to make obvious that they’re promoting their own brands.
“The rulings mark the transition from influencers as endorsers to owners. From content creators to brand creators.”
