Esquire Slips Up With Pirelli Promotion

Natmags has had its wrists slapped by the ASA for promising its readers a Pirelli 2002 calendar but failing to deliver.

The complaint received by the ASA related to an issue of Esquire magazine which was sealed in a clear plastic bag along with some supplements. The top of the bag stated “Free Pirelli 2002 Calendar” while the front read “Free with this issue special Esquire Christmas bumper package. 1. Pirelli 2002 calendar…” In fact the magazine only contained articles and photos relating to the calendar and not the calendar itself.

The Pirelli calendar is only sent, by Pirelli, to people on a selected list. Natmags said the intention had been to give readers the contents of the calendar for free, so the month by month lead images of the calendar had been reproduced in a reduced size. They added that offering the calendar itself would not have been possible as it was too big.

The ASA agreed with the complaint that the promotion had been misleading and welcomed the promoters’ decision to take more care when promoting readers’ offers in future.

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

Recent Regulation stories from NewsLine: Oftel Cracks Down On Rip-Off Text Messages ITC Condemns Copy Cat Commercials IPA Defends Sales Structure In DCMS Response

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive