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Three online advertisements for UK nutrition companies Huel and Zoe have been banned and ruled as ‘misleading’ by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The three adverts, all paid-for Facebook ads seen in February, featured endorsements by entrepreneur and Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett. Bartlett is an investor in Zoe and a director at Huel.

The UK advertising regulator said it had received complaints about the adverts for both companies, as they did not state that Bartlett had commercial interest in the businesses.

In the advert for Zoe, which offers consumer healthcare testing services and nutrition support, Bartlett was seen with a patch on his arm containing the word ‘Zoe,’ alongside a quote from the entrepreneur stating: “If you haven’t tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life.”

The ASA ruled that consumers could interpret the ad as an independent testimonial due to the omission of information about Bartlett’s investment in the business, which the regulator considered ‘material to consumers’ understanding of the ad and relevant in making an informed decision about the product’.

A spokesperson for Zoe told FoodBev: “Our ad was posted from the Zoe Facebook account, with the ‘Sponsored’ label, clearly marking it as an ad. The ASA acknowledged, in its ruling, that the ad was indeed ‘obviously identifiable’ as a marketing communication.”

“Neither the Code, nor any of the ASA’s guidance, suggests that it is necessary to go into granular detail about the precise nature of an ambassador's commercial relationship with a brand. We believe the ad was compliant with the CAP Code.”

However, in accordance with the ASA’s ruling, Zoe provided a written assurance that the advert would not appear again in the form complained about.

“We respect the ASA’s work in upholding transparency in online advertising…We would welcome further guidance to bring clarity on the effect of this decision, to ensure that all our future advertising complies with the CAP Code,” the spokesperson concluded.

Similary, an advert for Huel showed an image of the brand’s Daily Greens drink alongside text stating: “This is Huel’s best product – Steven Bartlett”. A second advert contained a video of Bartlett, stating: “This is the best product that Huel have released.”

The ASA considered that many consumers were ‘unlikely to understand’ from the advertisements that Bartlett had a financial interest in Huel’s performance, and was therefore also likely to mislead.

Huel argued that the advertisements were clearly identifiable as such due to Facebook’s ‘Sponsored’ labelling features, and that customers ‘generally’ understand that celebrity endorsements are shared in the context of a commercial relationship with the company behind the product.

However, the ASA’s ruling determined that the advertisement breaches the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising). It instructed Huel to ensure the ads do not appear again in the form complained about, and to ensure future advertisements do not misleadingly omit material information regarding commercial relationships.

FoodBev has reached out to Huel for comment.

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