Shetlander wins fight over web retailer’s TV ad

A SHETLAND islander has won his battle with an luxury online store after complaining that its TV ad, which promised to “deliver anywhere”, was misleading – because it didn’t deliver to the Scottish islands.

The ASA said that Achicas adverts, which claimed its products were available anywhere you can get online, was misleading. Picture: Contributed

The islander, who is one of the 22,200 people living on the Shetland Islands – which lie more than 100 miles from mainland Scotland – complained to advertising chiefs after seeing the advert for Achica.

The ad for the firm, which describes itself as a “members-only store offering luxury brands at discounted prices”, showed a man sitting on one of six high-backed chairs in the middle of a field. Text on the advert stated: “I found just what I wanted in the middle of nowhere.”

The ad also showed a woman lounging in a hammock in her office and a woman on a bus with a giant mirror along with a voice-over saying: “There’s something new to discover for the home and garden every day at Achica.com.

“Great brands at amazing prices … available anywhere you can get online.”

The complainant, who has not been named, said he had an internet connection, but said that Achica did not deliver some items to the Shetland Islands.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has now agreed that the ad was misleading and ordered Achica to ensure any delivery restrictions were “clearly stated” in adverts from now on.

It said: “The ad did not contain any qualification to manage consumers’ expectations that certain products were unable to be delivered to remote parts of the UK.

“We considered the on-screen text ‘I found just what I wanted in the middle of nowhere’ along with the voice-over ‘Great brands … available anywhere you can get online’ gave consumers the impression that dependent on an internet connection, consumers could order online and that Achica would deliver any product ordered, even if a customer lived in a remote location.

“We considered that impression was further emphasised by the visual of the man sitting in a rural setting.

“Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded that it was likely to mislead.”

The ASA added: “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Achica.com to ensure delivery exclusions and restrictions were clearly stated in future ads.”

Bosses at Achica said it did deliver “some” items to the Shetland Islands, but said that “large items” were “excluded from delivery to non-mainland UK homes”.

It said some items could not be delivered to the Shetland Islands as they required two delivery people and also said it was not cost effective.