After a Commerce Commission investigation, three magazines, Fashion Quarterly, Cleo and She & More, will publish apologies for misleading consumers about subscription offers.
Commission Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy said that the magazines made misleading claims about free offers of cosmetics and clothing, and, in the Commission's opinion, may have breached the Fair Trading Act.
Bold print in an advertisement in the summer Fashion Quarterly misleadingly offered free L'Oreal make up kits to people who bought subscriptions. It was only explained in fine print that subscribers would go into a draw to win a cosmetics pack.
Similarly, the October Cleo misleadingly offered a free pair of Levi's jeans and a T-shirt to people who subscribed. Fine print at the bottom of the page stated that subscribers would go into a draw to win the jeans and T-shirt.
The October She & More misleadingly offered a free Yardley cosmetics pack. Fine print on another page explained that subscribers would go into a draw to win the gift. The July issue had misleadingly offered a free Bendon gift. Fine print stated that only the first 100 subscribers would receive a gift.
Ms Leamy said that courts have ruled several times that the impression created by advertising must be accurate, and fine print will not save misleading advertisements from breaching the Act.
The Act prohibits offers of free gifts with the intention of not providing them as offered, and also prohibits false or misleading claims about prices.
The magazines' publisher, Australian Consolidated Press (ACP), is to draft the apologies by Monday December 15 for the Commission to approve. They will be published in the next issues of each magazine.
ACP has entered into a settlement with the Commission, giving signed undertakings to:
· publish apologies for misleading consumers about subscription offers;
· ensure that it will not offer free gifts to subscribers to any of its magazines, unless it will provide the free gifts;
· ensure that all it promotions accurately describe what is being offered; and
· to have the Commission publicise the settlement.
Media contact: Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy
Phone work (04) 498 0908
Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa
Phone work (04) 498 0920
Commission media releases can be viewed on its web site www.comcom.govt.nz
