A variety of ads for Hubbly Bubbly electronic cigarettes were challenged by the government agency that regulates e-cigarettes. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded that one of the ads did not make clear that the product contained nicotine as required by the country’s Advertising Code. The ads also included celebrity endorsements, depicted models who did not appear to be over the age of 25 using the devices, and were filmed in cool and trendy scenes. The ASA concluded that these communications created an association with youth culture and would be likely to appeal to those under the age of 18 in breach of the Code. The ASA ordered the company not to use the ads again in their current form.
ASA Adjudication on Hubbly Bubbly Ltd, Complaint Ref: A15-300973 (2015).
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Electronic and/or battery-operated devices designed to deliver an inhaled dose of nicotine or other substances. Examples include electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, electronic hookah, vaporizers, and vape pens. ENDS does not include any device or medication approved by the government as nicotine replacement therapy.
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"The ads must not appear again in their current form. We welcomed Hubbly Bubbly Ltd's willingness to withdraw or amend their advertising and reminded them to ensure that their ads did not appeal particularly to people under 18 years of age and did not show or feature, in a significant role, people who were or who seemed to be, under 25 years of age. We also told them to ensure that their marketing communications which identified, directly or indirectly, specific products or product ranges contained a clear indication that some or all of those products contained nicotine, where that was the case."
"We considered that the overall impression of the ad was of a cool and trendy scene in which e-cigarettes featured prominently, and that, as with ad (b) above, the combination of this with the apparent youth of many of the people shown served to associate the ad with youth culture and render it likely to appeal particularly to those aged under 18. We therefore concluded that the ad breached the Code."
"The Code stipulated that people shown using e-cigarettes or playing a significant role in a marketing communication for e-cigarettes and related products must neither be, nor seem to be, under the age of 25. Although we were satisfied that the man shown in ad (c) did fulfil that requirement, we considered that the women featured in all three ads − all of whom were using e-cigarettes − did not appear to be 25 or older. We therefore concluded that the ads breached the Code."
"The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must state clearly if an advertised product contained nicotine. The ASA understood that Hubbly Bubbly sold both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free e-cigarettes. ...
Ad (b) showed e-cigarettes in use. Although we understood that the specific products featured did not contain nicotine, we considered that, because the image appeared as a banner on the advertiser's Twitter page, it served to promote the whole range of products available from Hubbly Bubbly. Because some Hubbly Bubbly products contained nicotine, we considered that that information should be clearly presented to consumers either within the image or as part of the surrounding messaging on the page. In the absence of any such statement, we concluded that ad (b) breached the Code."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
A variety of ads for Hubbly Bubbly electronic cigarettes were challenged by the government agency that regulates e-cigarettes. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded that one of the ads did not make clear that the product contained nicotine as required by the country’s Advertising Code. The ads also included celebrity endorsements, depicted models who did not appear to be over the age of 25 using the devices, and were filmed in cool and trendy scenes. The ASA concluded that these communications created an association with youth culture and would be likely to appeal to those under the age of 18 in breach of the Code. The ASA ordered the company not to use the ads again in their current form.