ARY News rapped for sponsorship breach by Ofcom

Ofcom has rapped ARY News after the media regulator received a complaint over sponsorship credits around a cricket talk show called ‘Har Lamha Purjoush’.

Ofcom reviewed the programme and noted that during the sponsorship credits shown around the programme a voiceover stated ���Har Lamha Purjoush was brought to you by ��Love fresh, Love tasty, Love Pepe�۪s�۪ in association with PDS Cargo and Zauq Foods�۝.

The credit for Pepe�۪s featured text stating ���LOVE FRESH, LOVE TASTY�۝ along with a brand logo and details of the company�۪s website accompanied by the text ���Visit our website to find your nearest store�۝. The sponsorship credit for Zauq Foods, featured the text ���for trade enquiries please call [telephone number].�۝
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Ofcom considered that the sponsorship credits for Pepe�۪s and Zauq Foods raised issues warranting investigation. Sponsorship credits must be distinct from advertising.

The Licensee accepted that it had been a ���mistake�۝ to broadcast the sponsorship credits in this case. ARY assured Ofcom that it as a result it had taken corrective measures to avoid similar issues recurring, including a training workshop for relevant staff members about compliance with the Code rules derived from the Audiovisual Media Services (���AVMS�۝) Directive. The Licensee said it would place more focus on this area in future.

Ofcom considered that both the voice over (���Love fresh, love tasty, love Pepe�۪s�۝) and on screen text (���LOVE FRESH, LOVE TASTY�۝) were advertising messages. We also considered the text ���Visit our website to find your nearest store�۝ during the Pepe�۪s credit and the text ���For trade inquiries please call [telephone number]�۝ during the Zauq Foods credit directly invited the viewer to contact the sponsors and were therefore clear calls to action. As a result we concluded that both credits were in breach of Rule 9.22(a).