The advertising watchdog has banned Katie Price’s Instagram posts promoting a low-calorie diet, as well as national ads by actor Dominic West.
Both campaigns can no longer appear in their current form as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found Nationwide’s advertising to be misleading.
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Katie Price’s 755 Calorie Day ad
Price’s post violated rules requiring marketing posts to be clearly marked as ads, as well as health guidelines.
The penultimate phrase in her promotional video for low-calorie food brand Not Guilty Food was “#ad”, which the ASA considered was “not prominent enough to clearly identify the ad as a marketing communication from the outset”.
Katie Price’s Instagram posts
Advertising labels need to be clear and visible up front, the ASA said.
But it added that without interacting with the post and expanding the text, Price’s advertising hashtag wouldn’t have been visible because the text didn’t stand out enough.
Price said the video showed her total food intake was 755 calories a day, and the ASA said the video “irresponsibly” promoted a diet of less than 800 calories a day.
Such posts must stipulate that diets below 800 calories are for short-term use only, and viewers should also be encouraged to take medical advice before starting a diet.
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Nationwide complaints – filed by competitors
Building a society national radio, television and print Turn off branch advertising – starring actor Dominic West as the arrogant bank boss – is said to be misleading because consumers may think a long-term decision not to close branches has been made and the bank has not closed any branches recently.
The ASA says this is not the case.
Dominic West on the campaign trail across the country.Image: Nationwide
Instead, Nationwide has pledged not to close any more branches until 2026, after closing two branches last year.
The ASA said warnings about the 2026 closure may be ignored in TV and radio adverts.
Rival Santander filed a claim against the ASA, a relatively unusual move among British banks. Typically, competitors in industries such as retail are more likely to make formal complaints.
Santander, considered a relatively “big bank”, advertised that it was closing branches.
In an advertising campaign the previous year, Santander said it had closed fewer branches than national banks, and at the time of viewing the ad, the bank had not announced future branch closures.
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