The complaint against Ellie Kelly related to a recent advertisement for a beauty brand.
A complaint regarding influencer Ellie Kelly‘s recent advertisement for beauty brand LOOKFANTASTIC has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI).
The ad in question featured a series of Instagram Stories and a 15 percent discount code for users. The complaint stated that Kelly had not included the word ‘AD’ throughout the Instagram Stories, and that the word only appeared at the end of the Stories.
“They said the Influencer should have made it clear from the beginning that the content she was posting was sponsored or an advert for LOOKFANTASTIC,” it read.
According to the ASAI, Kelly responded saying “…it was a matter of forgetting to type the word AD as she had so many stories to upload. She said it was a simple mistake and not a case of misleading anyone as that is not in her nature. She said she included AD on some of the stories and the main post on her feed.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaDRDGhMEFz/
The response went on: “The advertisers confirmed that they contractually required their Influencers to ensure that any marketing material they post on their social media accounts relating to their LOOKFANTASTIC brand was clearly identified as an advert (e.g., by using #ad).”
LOOKFANTASTIC added that they spoke to Kelly’s team about the issue “and they have reiterated that any posts/stories relating to their Look Fantastic brand need to be clearly labelled as adverts. They said going forward they will continue to monitor the Influencer’s compliance.”
The ASAI has said that the ad can no longer appear in its current form and that Kelly was reminded to comply with ASAI rules in future.
Recent posts by influencer Jennifer Wrynne were also included in the ASAI’s most recent complaints report. A complaint was filed following a series of clothing posts in which the complainant “considered that the posts were misleading because they did not state that the links were affiliate links.”
Wrynne responded and said she was “genuinely sorry for this oversight.”
