ASA Rules Against Elfbar
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against Elfbar - again
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by Dave Cross
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The Advertising Standards Authority states: “A website for a vape company, www.elfbar.co.uk, seen in April and May 2023. The homepage stated, ‘ELFBAR 600. Voted #1 Best Disposable Vape. Choose from over 30 flavours, including 6 new delicious flavours. NOW 3 FOR £12. MAKE THE SWITCH TODAY’.
“Several vapes were pictured and text stated, ‘3 for £12’.
“A web page for the ELFBAR Loyalty Scheme featured text which stated, ‘Free to join’ and ‘collect points for being a loyal ELFBAR UK customer! … sign up today for special bonuses and extra points … For every 100 points you earn, you get £1 added to your account’.”
The regulator went on to say: “Another web page for a disposable vape featured text which stated ‘The most popular disposable, the ELFBAR 600 is a simple, clean design with an ergonomic mouth tip for comfort. It delivers up to 600 puffs in various delicious flavours, with 20 mg/ml of nic salts offering a richer vaping experience and smoother throat hits for an all-day vape’.”
Further down the page, text apparently stated: “Check out the great reviews for the ELFBAR 600 range and you'll see why they're the #1 best-selling disposable vape. Perfect for both new vapers and existing vapers, the ELFBAR 600 vape is small, compact and packed with flavour. Here's just one of the many 5 Star reviews ...”.
The Advertising Standards Authority says another web page featured a blog titled “Why is everyone so obsessed with ELFBARS?”.
Under the sub-heading “ACCESSIBILITY”, text stated, “We like to think when a craving does arise, there's nothing more convenient than having an ELFBAR by your side".
The Advertising Standards Authority syas that under the sub-heading “VARIETY” text stated, “Whether you've been vaping for a long time, or you only just picked up your first ELFBAR recently, we understand that things can get quite tedious if you keep using the same flavours, and keep making regular payments but don't really seem to be tasting the flavours. This can drain your enthusiasm to keep yourself on the straight and narrow, so we have tailored our entire business model on the importance of switching things up".
Finally, a further web page, titled “Drink Pairings with ELFBAR” featured the Cotton Candy Ice Elf Bar 600, and stated, “Cotton Candy Ice – This is a favourite at any fun fair or tuck shop that you're sure to remember when you were young. It's definitely one for those of us with a sweet tooth".
The Advertising Standards Authority received complaints from Imperial Tobacco Ltd and Nicoventures Retail (UK) Ltd, saying they believed only factual content was permitted and challenged whether the claims were promotional claims, and therefore in breach of the CAP Code.
Flavour Warehouse Ltd denied responsibility, saying that IMIRACLE (HK) LTD traded as Elfbar in the UK. The Advertising Standards Authority noted that under the Terms of Use on the website https://www.elfbar.co.uk/, as part of the “Who we are and how to contact us”, it says “The Elf Bar U.K website is a site operated by Flavour Warehouse Limited” (and give’s the company number, VAT number, and provides the address for their registered office and trading office.
All of the complaints were upheld.
The Advertising Standards Authority states: “We told Flavour Warehouse Ltd t/a Elfbar to remove the claims found to be in breach of the Code and to ensure that they did not use promotional claims for unlicensed nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or e-liquids on their website.”
This is the second time this year that Elfbar ads have been found to breach the advertising code.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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