Deliveroo TV advert banned over misleading delivery claims

An ad for food service Deliveroo has been banned for misleadingly implying it could deliver anywhere in the UK.

The television ad, seen on March 19, showed various scenes of people eating food, using the Deliveroo app and having food delivered to them in unusual locations or circumstances.

A voice-over stated: “Order what you want; where you want; when you want it,” as someone was shown receiving a delivery in a field after apparently tunnelling under-ground to escape from prison and as an astronaut was shown receiving a delivery in space.

On-screen text at the bottom of the page stated: “Some restrictions apply, obviously … “

Some 22 complainants, who understood that Deliveroo did not deliver to their areas, challenged whether the ad was misleading.

Deliveroo acknowledged that there were locations which they did not currently cover but believed the text “Some restrictions apply, obviously” made this clear.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said consumers were likely to expect that Deliveroo’s service applied throughout the UK without exception “given the absolute nature of the claim”.

The ASA said: “Given the expectation set up by the ad, we considered it was not sufficient to make consumers aware they would need to check for availability in their area.

“Because we considered the ad suggested delivery was unrestricted throughout the UK when that was not the case, we concluded that it was likely to mislead.”

A Deliveroo spokesman said: “Deliveroo designed a playful advert to show that, through our service, people are able to order food to a wide range of places, whether home or work, for a range of occasions.

“We know some will be disappointed that their local area isn’t currently served by Deliveroo, but we are expanding rapidly across the UK and will be coming to their town or city soon.”