Watch the fine print

2005-11-17 08:11

Philip de Bruin

Johannesburg - There is little use in an advertiser making a lucrative offer and then adding in the fine print that "terms and conditions apply".

When one of these "terms and conditions" is that a client has to pay to take part in a competition, the reasonable person would find it misleading.

This is what the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found in a case brought against a Roche Diagnostics advertisement. The advertisement, which must be pulled immediately, stated that people could have cholesterol and blood-pressure tests done at participating pharmacies and stand a chance to win a blood pressure monitor.

Ewald Jelinek was incensed when he had to pay R90 for the cholesterol test to be eligible for the competition. The advertisement didn't mention payment for the tests as a prerequisite for entering the competition, he told the ASA.

Roche said the advertisement clearly mentioned "terms and conditions". The ad also did not claim that the tests are free. However, the ASA rejected this argument.

- Beeld