ASA gets tough again

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has slammed Disney for a second time over the advertising of its mobile phone games.

The latest complaint concerns two ads on the back page of a Disney Store brochure offering Disney games for mobile phones.

A customer complained that the ads did not make clear the full costs of the games, and were irresponsible because they appealed to children who might download the games without adult permission.

Both ads used well-known Disney characters to advertise the games, inviting consumers to send an SMS using the short code in the ad to receive a text message with a link to the relevant operator portal.

This contained information on the games, the price and the terms and conditions. Smaller text at the side of both the ads stated: 'Standard operator text charges apply. This is not a subscription service.'

Disney Mobile defended the ads, saying that they were intended to give consumers the option to find out more about the games on offer and how to obtain them.

An almost identical complaint was raised in May, when the ASA upheld the complaint and told Disney to ensure that future ads were clearer and that children had to obtain parental permission before downloading the games.

Disney said at the time that the brochure was available for approximately six weeks only and that it did not intend to use the ads again.

However, the entertainment giant added that it would aim to make similar ads clearer in the future to avoid any potential confusion.

Again in this case, the ASA sided with the complainant stating 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.

"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 that a further charge would apply to get the games on your phone," the watchdog stated.

One the second point, the ASA took onboard Disney's assertion that the Disney Store brochure was intended for adults.

However, it considered that, because some of its content spoke directly to children, the brochure was, at least partly, targeted at children.

The ASA added that this adjudication replaces the one from May, which remains upheld but includes different wording.

Once again, Disney maintained that the brochure was available for approximately six weeks only and that did not intend to use the ads again.

The company added, again, that it would aim to make future, similar ads clearer to avoid any potential confusion.