A SCOTTISH model has come under regulatory fire for Instagram story posts that failed to make clear they were marketing products.

Emma Louise Connolly has felt the heat of the Advertising Standards Authority over posts in June that promoted clothing firm Calzedonia, jewellery and accessories company Bvlgari, and London-based BOL Foods.

The ASA said that the 29-year-old from Dunblane had a financial relationship with all three and breached the UK Code for non-broadcast advertisements - by failing to make clear the commercial intent of the posts directed at over 450,000 followers of her Instagram.

The regulator said that both Calzedonia and Bvlgari were also responsible for ensuring the promotions complied with advertising regulations.

One post featuring Calzedonia featured a picture of the model, who married Made in Chelsea star Oliver Proudlock before Christmas, wearing a blue swimsuit. The caption stated: “The @calzedonia blues! #CalzedoniaAmbassador”.

The Herald:

Source: ASA

A story post for Calzedonia, featured Ms Connolly,who has modelled for big brands including Maybelline and Nasty Gal, in a black swimsuit with superimposed text in small, white writing on a light grey background that stated “@calzedonia AD”.

A second post, for Bvlgari, featured Ms Connolly wearing a necklace with a caption that stated “@bulgari. Honestly, what an honour to be part of the new #BvlgariMagnifica campaign. Nothing but love for the magnificent team behind it … #Bvlgari #BvlgariHighJewelry”.

The third post, for food manufacturer BOL Foods, featured Ms Connolly eating spaghetti with a caption that stated “sippin [(sic)] on some @bolfoods posh noods swipe for our full new #powerFULL range of plant based goodness that all taste SO good”.

The post included an exhortation to consumers to purchase from two national supermarkets that were tagged in the post caption.

The ASA investigated after receiving two complaints that challenged whether the posts were identifiable as marketing communications.

The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing rule book (CAP Code) states that marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such, and that they must make clear their commercial intent if that was not obvious from the context.

Ms Connolly's agent told the ASA that one of the Calzedonia posts was not put up as part of any paid work and they thought they thought a label 'ad' was clear and prominent. However, they said that they would ensure future, similar posts, featured clearer and more prominent labels.

Calzedonia said that they had maintained a brand ambassador relationship with Ms Connolly since 2018 and under agreement for which Ms Connolly was paid, all posts had to be labelled as advertising and pre-approved by them to to ensure compliance with consumer protection regulations and the CAP Code.

They said one post had been made outside of that pre-approval process and that they had asked Ms Connolly to include the label '#Ad', but had not been able to ensure that happened. They said that following the ASA’s contact, the post had been updated.

Ms Connolly’s agent said that she was an investor in BOL Foods and was not required to post about the brand under any agreement with them.

The Herald:

Source: ASA

Ms Connolly announced her position as an investor in the company to her followers, both through Instagram story posts, and other entries on her account.

They said that BOL Foods had constructed a label for Ms Connolly to use on posts about their brand, “#team BOL”, and that she would announce that to her followers and use it in future posts about the brand.

They said Ms Connolly had previously used the label '#businesspartners' as such they did not feel it was necessary to include the label '#AD'. They said they would ensure Ms Connolly used the label “#teamBOL” in the future.

The ASA in upholding the complaints said that while Ms Connolly had not been directly paid for the Calzedonia post, it was linked to her ambassador agreement with the firm and "we considered the post was an ad for the purposes of the Code and so should have been obviously identifiable as such, for example through the use of the label #AD."

It said they welcomed Calzedonia’s assurance that a post had been updated to include the label '#AD'.

Another post did feature the label 'AD', but the ASA said it appeared in small white writing on a light grey background and was "obscured".

The ASA said it also welcomed Ms Connolly’s assurance that the Bvlgari post had been updated to include the label '#AD'.

The investigation also found that Ms Connolly was an investor in Powder Bowl Trading Ltd, which trades as BOL Foods, and therefore had a commercial relationship with the brand.

The ASA said that although some of Ms Connolly’s followers might have known that she was an investor in BOL Foods, "it was not immediately clear to all that she had a commercial interest in the company from the post itself".

"We noted BOL Food’s assurance that Ms Connolly’s future posts about their brand would be labelled “#teamBOL”, and that Ms Connolly would create and post a video to Instagram explaining the meaning of the label to her followers, the ASA said. " However, we considered that label and explanatory video would still not make clear the commercial intent behind Ms Connolly’s posts, and would not make them obviously identifiable as marketing communications.

"We concluded that the commercial intent behind the post was not made clear upfront and was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication, and therefore breached the Code."

It added: "The posts must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Emma Louise Connolly, Calzedonia (UK) Ltd, Bvlgari (UK) Ltd and Powder Bowl Trading Ltd to ensure that they made clear the commercial intent of their posts in future, and to ensure that their future ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications, and that identifiers such as '#ad' were clearly and prominently displayed."