The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has banned Floki Inu ads, claiming that the ad “irresponsibly exploited consumer fear of missing out, and trivialized cryptocurrencies.”
Floki Inu poster ads were initially seen with the London Underground, each with a graphic of an animated dog wearing a Viking helmet. The large, bold text read, “Missed Doge? Get Floki,” while the smaller text cautioned the public that their investments could go up and down in value, emphasizing that cryptocurrencies are not regulated in the UK. goes.
The ASA believes that the use and bold statements of the Shiba Inu cartoon dog took advantage of consumers’ “fear of missing out (FOMO)”, mitigated the risks of cryptocurrency investments, and exploited consumers’ inexperience. . In its defence, Floki Ltd., trading as Floki Inu, stated that they had submitted the advertisement to the Advertising Practice Committee and had obtained approval from the committee before displaying the advertisements.
They did not consider the logo to be a frivolous investment product and this was their corporate logo. The community felt that, if the Elon Musk-inspired logo had been removed, consumers would have been in the dark about the company behind the ad. The ASA acknowledged this, but remained adamant that the use of the cartoon image made the investment frivolous.
Are you an “informed consumer?”
Floki Inu said that many cryptocurrencies begin with jokes or memes, claiming that the target audience for the ad was “informed consumers”. This “informed consumer” is believed to have been knowledgeable about the crypto market, how it works, and the inherent risks of investing. The UK watchdog rejected the “informed consumer” hypothesis, arguing that the cryptocurrency’s high-profile, occasional presence in the media was enough to make even relatively uninformed consumers curious, with the appearance of advertisements on London transport poster sites.
Floki claimed that the warning regarding the potential for harm was aimed at the general consumer, who would see the ad phrase “Missed doge, get Floki, as a wordplay, but further investigation is needed to properly understand the ad. With regard to the size of the warning text, the ASA believed it was too small, and the overwhelming message conveyed by the advertisement required Floki to be purchased.
According to the ASA, Floki Inu was marketing using the phrase, “Missed Doge? Get Floki,” implying that Dogecoin was in the same category, leading consumers to believe that Floki Inu would show a similar uptrend in price. . Floki Ltd claimed that it did not tout crypto as a better investment or promote the urgency for the consumer to invest immediately.
The ASA said that since cryptocurrency is a relatively new product, the public was not aware of the tax that needed to be paid. The body also pointed out that there was no information on payment of CGT on the website of Floki Inu. The Floki community claimed that it was not informed of the possibility of imposing a capital gains tax on cryptocurrency investments, which would require a mention in the ad.
Similar Floki Inu ads banned by Watchdog
The ASA said that the advertisement should not appear in the same form in future. They advised Floki Ltd to not exploit the fear of missing out, not to trivialize crypto investments, and to inform consumers about their ability to pay CGT on cryptocurrency gains in accordance with rules 1.3 and 14.1 of the CAP Code : “Marketing communication should be designed with a sense of responsibility towards consumers and society” and “Propositions of financial products should be laid out in such a way that they are easily understood by the audience to be addressed. To the marketers It should be ensured that they do not take advantage of the inexperience or creditworthiness of the consumers.”
Floki stated that they had covered every base of the CAP Code and ASA requirements before launching the campaign, feeling that the UK watchdog had wrongly applied them to Floki Inu ads by revising the guidelines and applying them retroactively. Work done. However, he has committed to using the ASA’s revised guidelines for future missions.
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