ASA rules against Social Media People scam AdWords campaign

Image via WikipediaHere's another new case from the ASA's expanded remit into Digital.

There was an AdWord that read; "Social media people scam net66-the social media people AVOID this company is a scam www.the-social-media-people-scam.co.uk". The ad pointed to this site. That's a "nofolow" link, by the way.

As you would expect the Social Media People were less than happy with the ad and objected. The ASA Adjudication upheld the objecting; agreeing that it breached sections 3.42 and 3.43 - imitation and denigration. The ASA noted they had not seen enough evidence to suggest the Social Media People were a scam. It was also suggested that the ad had been created by a disgruntled ex-employee.

What's the result of the ASA's adjudication? The ad may not run again in its current form.

Of course, if the ad does run again in the current form the ASA does have Google's agreement to look into the case and potentially force it offline.