FIN. TeamASA has found a TV advert for American Express breached the BCAP rules on misleading advertising, qualification and exaggeration. On the ad, a voiceover claimed that “there is a card that could give you 5% cashback on all purchases”. In fact, this amount was available only for the first 3 months, was subject to a minimum spend and maximum total benefit, and there were several other limitations. The font explaining these was small and situated within a larger block. Amex and the advertising agency claimed, variously, that the word “could” should have informed consumers the benefit would not always have been available and that, anyway, consumers would not think it was an absolute claim. The ASA said the ad could not be shown again in its current form.
