I got carried away
Last week I told you I was celebrating a professional milestone – 34 years since I qualified as a solicitor.
Well I slightly got my dates mixed up.
It’s actually 32 years!
I was so into celebrating what I had achieved, my maths went slightly awry.
But what’s 2 years between friends!
Since this small mistake, I have been thinking about how easy it is to miss something.
In this case, it’s not really a big deal, and something I can easily rectify – check my maths before pressing schedule!
But in other aspects of business, what seem to be small mistakes can have bigger consequences.
Recently, a complaint about a misleading image in an ad on Facebook was upheld by the ASA.
The ad, for an online platform for new and expectant parents, stated:
“Mums, have you claimed Your Baby Box worth over £50 yet?”,
and showed an image of the baby box with various products for babies and new mums.
However, the contents of the box were subject to change, and despite text in the ad saying this and that the image was for illustration purposes only, the ASA ruled it was not an accurate representation of what mums would receive.
The company hadn’t thought about the wider implications of using the image, including in this case the way ads are displayed on social media.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and using an image to show your products is a good idea, however there are things you need to consider in order to keep you on the right side of the ASA.