Disney broke Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) rules on
truthfulness and pricing and was told to change its advertising.
The ASA also told the company to make sure that parental consent
was given for expensive game downloads.
Disney advertised two sets of games available for download to
mobile phones. A complaint was made to the ASA that the cost of the
games was not made clear and that the advertising was irresponsible
because it appealed to children who could download the games
without adult permission.
The company argued that the signs advertised mobile internet
links not to the games themselves, but to sites which explained
what the games were and that they cost £5. It also said that the
brochure which contained the ads was aimed at parents, not
children.
"We considered that it was unclear that the ads were simply an
invitation to find out more about the games and that the charge
mentioned in the ad was for an initial text message only," said the
ASA ruling. "We concluded that the ads should have either included
the full cost of downloading the games, or explained clearly that
the cost referred to in the ads was the cost of gathering
information about the games and a further charge would apply to get
the games on your phone."
Disney told the ASA that the advertising was designed for
adults. It said that the wording of phrases such as 'Indulge your
little princess with her own special carriage this Christmas' or
'…costumes and accessories for your little pirate' made it clear
that the brochure was for adults.
The ASA did not accept Disney's argument. "It was available in
store and its distribution was therefore not restricted to adults
only and because some of its content spoke directly to children,
the brochure was, at least in part, addressed to or targeted at
children," said the ASA ruling.
"Given that, and because the games were complex and costly
products, we concluded that adult permission should have been
obtained before children were committed to purchasing them," it
said.
Disney was told to include the full cost of games in future
advertising and to find a way to make sure that adult permission
was granted before children were able to purchase such costly
games.
