Geordie Shore star Louis Shaw has been rapped by the advertising watchdog for promoting unlicensed e-cigarettes containing nicotine on his Instagram page. He also breached standards by not declaring that his post promoting them was an advert.
His Instagram story on 20 December last year showed a hand with two boxes of e-cigarettes surrounded by text saying “@RELXUK” and “GET YOUR OWN – RELAX WITH 15% OFF – LOUISXMAS15”. The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled it cannot appear in the same form again after someone complained it did not make clear it was an advert.
The watchdog itself also challenged whether the advert promoted unlicensed e-cigarettes containing nicotine on the picture-sharing site. The watchdog said adverts must be “obviously identifiable” and must make it clear they are adverts if this is not obvious from the outset.
