Complaint against blogger Grace Mongey upheld by the ASAI

A complaint against blogger Grace Mongey has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI).

The Dublin based blogger had shared a social media post on her 'Faces By Grace' account which was sponsored by Boots concerning the pharmacy's advantage cards. The post, one of seven, was not tagged as sponsored content and therefore not portrayed as a paid advertisement. A complaint was submitted stating that the post was not tagged as '#sp' but that it was clear that Mongey was working for Boots. https://www.instagram.com/p/BnB62hTFKBd/?hl=en&taken-by=facesbygrace23 The ASAI upheld the complaint against Mongey stating that the post was in breach of their guidelines. They said:

"The Committee noted that of the seven Instagram story posts, one had not been hash tagged appropriately to indicate that it was a marketing communication. "In the circumstances the Committee considered that this story post was in breach of Sections 3.31 and 3.32 of the Code."

Mongey said that it had been a "mistake" not to use the hashtag on one of the posts. She stated that it was "human error" and apologised for "any confusion caused." Boots said that they had briefed Mongey about the ad, stating that she had to include '#sp' or '#ad' on all posts. They also said that they had cleared all posts before they went live without the hashtag, and that Mongey would add the tags before the posts went live. The ASAI's statement reads:

"The advertisers said, in future, their PR agency would ask for sight of all posts which require #sp or #ad before they go live. "They said their agency would also ensure that the posts were clearly marked and in a legible font size and colour to ensure clarity of all sponsored content in the future."

The advertisement will not be permitted to be shared online again in its current form.