Ads are good. They make the public become aware of products, services and offers. They can boost the revenue of an organization. Since bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies became popular, there have been push by many firms involved in crypto to attract customers to their platforms. One way they have been doing this is by using crypto ads. However, before adding a caveat to these ads became mainstream most ads sold crypto off as a get-rich-quick scheme without any inherent warning about it's volatility and the other inherent risks. The Advertising Standards Authority Ltd(ASA) in the UK, since swoop into action and ban some of these ads after getting numerous complaints from the public. The aim of the thread is to discuss some of the ads that have been banned.
The Papa John’s Pizza ad was a promotion on its website and Twitter. The famous pizza chain was giving away bitcoin with purchases in May. The company advertised “free bitcoin worth £10.” With a purchase of £30 or more, customers would save £15 and get £10 worth of bitcoin from crypto exchange Luno.
Cryptocurrency app Luno was ordered to amend advertisements displayed throughout London's transport network after they were deemed "misleading" by the U.K. advertising regulator. Ads for the London-based exchange had been common sights at the city's bus and Underground stations in 2020, telling passengers:
"If you're seeing Bitcoin on the Underground, it's time to buy." The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said that the ads "gave the impression that bitcoin investment was straightforward and accessible," when it is in fact "complex, volatile, and could expose investors to losses". "We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading," the ASA concluded. Luno has agreed that future ads will take a different form and feature an "appropriate" risk warning. The ASA's investigation came after they received three complaints stating that the ads failed to illustrate the inherent risks of bitcoin investment. One also asked whether the ad was taking advantage of consumers' inexperience.
A Twitter page for crypto trading platform Coinburp, which included a bio section which states: “Register in minutes, deposit instantly, then make super-easy and secure crypto trades.” I checked their
Twitter page and the bio has since changed to "Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in the UK. Gains are subject to taxable charges. Cryptocurrency can be highly volatile. Capital at risk."
Payward’s ad was a digital poster for its crypto exchange, Kraken, seen at London Bridge station. It included text which states: “Buy 50+ crypto in minutes,” “Get started with as little as £10,” and “Build digital wealth and buy crypto on the go.”
According to the ASA, they said that, "we accepted that the ad had included a risk warning, as discussed in point 1 above, we considered that consumers would not have had the time to comprehend the relevant information in the disclaimer, if seen at all, and that it therefore was not clear. We considered that consumers would understand the overall impression from the ad that investment in cryptocurrency was straightforward and suitable for anyone regardless of personal financial circumstances or understanding of the product."
In the case of eToro, a paid for ad on the Yahoo Finance website included text which stated: “Invest in the world’s top cryptos with one click” and “Discover eToro’s unique BitcoinWorldwide offering, a ready-made portfolio, holding the world’s leading crypto assets”. The ASA had issues with the ad for being “irresponsible”, claiming it “took advantage” of consumers’ inexperience and was deemed misleading as eToro failed to communicate the risk of investment. EToro acknowledged its ad was not issuing the appropriate risk warning and blamed this on a lapse in its media review process. However, the brand argued the ad did not suggest cryptocurrency is easy to comprehend, stating its “one click” claim referred to the efficiency in providing a diversified crypto portfolio, compared to manually creating one. The ASA understood eToro’s explanation, but argued consumers could interpret cryptocurrencies are simple and require no knowledge to take part, which it says is not true.
Coinbase, meanwhile, was rapped for a Facebook ad with text stating: “£5 in #Bitcoin in 2010 would be worth over £100,000 in January 2021. Don’t miss out on the next decade – get started on Coinbase today”. There were also bullet points in the ad which stated the cryptocurrency was “simple and easy to use”, had “never been hacked” and was “trusted”. The ASA, however, banned the ad for not including any risk warning to make consumers aware cryptocurrencies could increase or drop in value. As the cryptocurrency is also currently unregulated in the UK, the ASA considered the message to be “misleading”.[/list]
I observed that these bans were mostly done in the UK. Has anyone noticed any crypto ad ban done in other countries since its inception?[/list]
