The Advertising Standards Authority has partly upheld a complaint against a prize competition for Cott Beverages’ RC Cola, offering the chance to win a family holiday for four to Orlando, Florida.

The IPM complained about the promotion on two grounds; firstly, that the terms and conditions did not set out the exact dates when the holiday prize could not be taken; and, secondly, that it was the promotion was “unfair and irresponsible because it targeted families but the terms and conditions stated that the family holiday prize could not be taken during the Christmas or Easter school holidays.”

The ASA did not agree with the second point, stating that although two holiday periods were blocked, there were three others which were still available before the prize expired.

However, it did uphold the IPM’s first complaint, ruling that because the competition was heavily aimed at families, who were restricted by the school calendar in terms of when they could go on holiday, the restrictions on when the holiday could be taken were “particularly significant conditions likely to affect the consumer's decision to enter the competition.” As such, they should have been “stated clearly and prominently in the main body of the ad” not “only mentioned in the terms and conditions”.

Cott acknowledged that the excluded dates could have been made clearer and communicated in the ad itself.

The ASA ruled that the ad was misleading and told Cott to ensure that significant conditions were communicated clearly and prominently in future.