ASA Bans Nike and Sky Ads; TikTok Launches Search Ads Campaign; Max Streaming Arrives to APAC

by Aimee Newell Tarín on 26th Sep 2024 in News

Today’s news: ASA Bans Nike and Sky Ads; TikTok Launches Search Ads Campaign; Max Streaming Arrives to APAC

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Sky and Nike ads for using “dark pattern” advertising tactics which intend to mislead consumers. An investigation by the ASA found Sky failed to make it clear to consumers that a free trial for Now TV would automatically renew with a charge unless cancelled. The text stating these conditions was displayed away from the references to free trials below the button to proceed, as well as being in smaller font and a less prominent colour than the rest of the text. Sky stated that they respect the ASA’s decision to ban the ad, and agreed to make “necessary changes” to their sales process. Meanwhile, Nike’s ad which appeared on The Sole Supplier’s X account in December, displayed a shoe at a low price without making it clear it was for a children’s size. The ad’s caption read “Now just £26 at Nike!” alongside an exploding head and black heart emojis. According to the ASA, the ad failed to indicate that the trainers were limited to children’s sizing, while using emojis which appeared to reinforce that the ad was aimed at adults. Nike claimed the ad was published by the retailer without its input, although stood firmly by the idea that the ad was not misleading.

In the social sphere, TikTok has launched Search Ads Campaign, a new campaign type which enables advertisers to connect with audiences by targeting ads based on what users are actively searching for in the app. It builds on the Search Ads Toggle feature, enabling keyword-based ads which target the video platform’s search results page. Available within TikTok Ads Manager, it gives advertisers greater control over how their content is displayed on the search results page. Users will not notice any difference in the ads, but advertisers gain a range of new features and targeting capabilities.

Focusing on APAC, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service (which combines the content offerings of HBO and Discovery – previously HBO Max) is expanding into the region. This was confirmed by James Gibbons, president of Warner Bros. Discovery APAC, at the APOS conference in Bali on Wednesday. Max launched in Japan via local partner U-Next that same day, while Hong Kong and Taiwan can expect access to the service by the end of the year. Max is set to arrive to Australia in the first half of 2025. The service has already rolled out in North America as well as certain regions of Europe and Latin America, however its rollout has been slower in the APAC region as a result of local market licensing and partnerships for HBO content.