Company: Bellini Baskets
Breach: No
Final Decision: 1 September 2006
Considered under the 3rd Edition of the Code.
Complaint summary
“The pack contains…champagne and a teddy bear, as is the case with the Bubbly & Bear gift pack. The bear is visible, and is an integral part of the gift. The Independent Complaints Panel ruling against the Bubbly & Bear gift pack concluded that ‘because of the inclusion of the teddy bear, the gift pack had particular appeal to under 18s in breach of Code paragraph 3.2(g). I submit that the gift pack which includes [a] teddy bear must therefore be in breach of Code paragraph 3.2(g).”
Complainant
Blue Sky Beverage Company Ltd
Decision
Under Code paragraph 3.2(g)
A drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not in any direct or indirect way have a particular appeal to under-18s.
UPHELD
The Panel’s assessment
The Panel first concluded that the baby gift basket fell within the remit of the Code as defined in Code paragraph 2.1. The Panel then considered whether the gift basket was likely to have a particular appeal to under 18s. In determining this, the Panel looked at the matter broadly as permitted by Code paragraph 2.9. The Panel noted that the product could be purchased only through the producers’ website using a credit or debit card. It considered that the website, in terms of its overall design and by virtue of the other items for sale (various gift baskets), was clearly targeted at adults. The Panel considered that under 18s were therefore less likely to access the product than if it had been sold in a shop.
The Panel also noted that at £145 the baby gift basket was relatively expensive. It further considered that the baby gift basket, which included a teddy bear, a 750ml bottle of champagne, a cotton terry towel and mitt set, a baby brush and comb set, a piggy bank, luxury toiletries for the new Mother, a candle and facecloth, was specifically marketed as a gift for couples who had just had a baby. In view of the context in which the product was marketed (i.e. an adult-oriented website), the price of the gift basket, the overall content of the gift basket and the way it was clearly targeted at new parents, the Panel concluded that the baby gift basket did not have a particular appeal to under 18s and therefore did not breach Code paragraph 3.2(g).
Action by company
No action required.