The Stage

Agency criticised by ASA for ‘misleading’ adverts

Published Wednesday 9 January 2008 at 16:35 by Matthew Hemley

An extras agency whose adverts neglected to inform performers about the up-front fees it charged and gave the impression that it found work directly has been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ASA said Eimaj Ltd had breached its code by printing “misleading” publicity in regional press, and has ordered the Hampshire-based company to make sure its material is accurate in future.

Following complaints from Equity councillor and up-front fees campaigner Clive Hurst, the ASA found Eimaj had not made clear in promotional material that it charged £165 up-front to cover the cost of a portfolio of photographs - a condition that the ASA said was “likely to affect readers’ decision to attend the advertised event”.

It also failed to say it passed on clients’ details to other agencies, instead of finding them work directly.

In addition, the ASA said Eimaj’s adverts, headlined ‘Models and extras required’, inaccurately implied that work was available immediately and failed to make it clear that the company was an agency.

It found that the company had breached truthfulness clauses in its CAP Code, which governs non-broadcast advertising, on four counts.

The ASA said: “We told Eimaj to ensure that future marketing communications made clear that they were an agency and that costs may be involved in enlisting with them.

“We also told them to remove any implication that Eimaj offered work directly or that work was available immediately.”