dcf.cymru stimulus sheet · English · Year 11
Every product, company, influencer and figure in these adverts is invented. The rules at the end are real: they are short extracts from the UK advertising code that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces.
@gethin.lifts · 184k followers
[Photo: Gethin running along the seafront at Aberystwyth at sunrise, white earbuds in, smiling.]
Honestly the best earbuds I’ve EVER owned [fire emoji] Been using them every single day for a month and I’m never going back. 30 HOURS of battery!! Nothing else comes close [flexed-arm emoji] …more
What you see only after tapping “…more”:
Use my code GETHIN20 for 20% off at pulsebuds.co.uk [running emoji] #running #gymlife #wales #morningrun #fitfam #ad
Checked facts: PulseBuds Pro cost £79.99. The maker’s own website says “up to 6 hours’ listening per charge, up to 30 hours in total with the charging case”. Gethin was sent the earbuds free and is paid commission on every sale made with his code. There is no “paid partnership” label on the post.
STOP SCROLLING.
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“GradeRocket took me from a 4 to an 8 in Maths in six weeks!” — Ffion, Year 11, Bridgend
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Small print, in pale grey: *Based on 20 users who answered our in-app survey in March; 18 said they felt their grades had improved. Free 7-day trial, then £4.99 a month, billed annually (£59.88). Cancel before the trial ends to avoid being charged.
Checked facts: GradeRocket gives users a ten-minute quiz on GCSE topics every day and a tracker showing which topics they get wrong most often. When the page is reloaded, the timer starts again at 10:00, and the “3 places” message never changes. The company could not say where the 250,000 figure comes from, and could not give contact details for “Ffion”.
ANTUR Y CWM · Profiad bythgofiadwy · An unforgettable experience
Feel the rush on Wales’s most breathtaking adventure.
Fly 1.2 km over the old slate quarry on our zip line.
Rated 4.8 out of 5 by our visitors.**
Summer weekends are selling out fast — book early.
Family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) £96. Under-8s go free in September.***
Small print: **Average of all 1,946 reviews left on our website since we opened, including the negative ones, which are all still shown. ***One free child per paying adult. Zip line: minimum age 10, minimum weight 30 kg.
Checked facts: The zip line is 1,212 metres long, measured by the engineers who built it. On the day the banner went live, 7 of the 12 summer weekend dates were already fully booked.
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| 2.1 | “Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such.” |
| 3.1 | “Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.” |
| 3.2 | Obvious exaggerations (“puffery”) and claims that the average consumer is unlikely to take literally are allowed, as long as they do not materially mislead. |
| 3.7 | Before an advert appears, the advertiser must hold documentary evidence to prove any claim that people are likely to regard as objective — a fact that can be checked. |
| 3.17 | “Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion.” |
| 3.30 | Adverts must not falsely state that a product, or the terms on which it is offered, will be available only for a limited time, to deprive consumers of the time or opportunity to make an informed choice. |
| 3.47 | The advertiser must hold documentary evidence that a testimonial is genuine, unless it is obviously fictitious, and hold contact details for the person who gave it. |
For influencers: the ASA’s guide says that if you have been paid, sent something free, or earn commission through a code or link, the post is an advert and needs a clear and prominent label such as “#ad” upfront — before people view the rest of the post.