Reality star Louise Thompson has breached advertising regulations by featuring sponsored Instagram content in partnership with Vanity Planet, without using #ad.
The Made in Chelsea star was warned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the three videos posted to Thompson's Instagram stories were in breach of Cap Code rules because they did not include a 'clear identifier' that they were affiliate posts.
The videos, which appeared on Thompson's stories for 24 hours, promoted Vanity Planet's GlowSpin facial cleansing device and were paid for by the brand.
However, Thompson said there was no formal written contract stating that she should use a qualifier and, while familiar with the requirement for static posts, she was unaware of the need to use #ad on the Instagram stories function.
One of the video stories did allude to a sponsored post, with a caption shown reading: “Obsessed with my glowspin! Swipe up for $100 off using my code ‘louiseglow Swipe up awesome @vanityplanetstore”.
However, this was not enough to convince the UK watchdog that it was clear to the average consumer that a commercial relationship was involved.
The ASA noted: "We considered that because the post was created by Louise Thompson for Vanity Planet, both parties were jointly responsible for ensuring that promotional activity conducted on Vanity Planet’s behalf was compliant with the CAP Code."
Thompson and Vanity Planet were said to have reassured the ASA that they would comply going forwards.
The ASA added: "We welcomed the assurances we received from both parties that they will ensure that future advertising posts on Instagram stories were properly labelled."
