Cleaning expert Mrs Hinch has landed herself in hot water with the advertising watchdog over Instagram posts.
The social media sensation, real name Sophie Hinchcliffe, is best known to her 4.6 million Instagram followers for sharing clever cleaning tips and household hacks. However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) took issue with two of Mrs Hinch post's from last year which both included her own products.
One Instagram Story from January last year attracted complaints after the star showed off her own 'Mrs Hinch Life in Lists' notebook, accompanied by a message telling viewers to "tap here for yours". Clicking on the link took Instagram users to an Amazon page for the notebook.
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The ASA ruled that the commercial intent of the post was "ambiguous" and ruled that it must not appear again, saying: "We considered the ad was not immediately clear as to Ms Hinchliffe’s commercial relationship with the notebook." The watchdog added that they would expect the post to come with a prominent label identifying it as an ad.
Mrs Hinch said she believed it was clear that she was promoting her own product in the Instagram Story, but added that she would be happy to include 'ad' on social media posts advertising her own products in the future. This wasn't the only post that was flagged up by the watchdog, as another from January last year featuring Tesco products also received similar criticism.
The star wrote alongside a picture of heart-shaped bowls, which were from her own Tesco range: "Even put some ‘nibbles’ (In my own hinch heart bowls, I love em) #hinchxtesco." Both Mrs Hinch and Tesco confirmed that she received royalties for the products that formed part of her range, but that the ad did not form part of their agreement, which had expired before the post was made.
The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again on the star's Instagram page, saying: "Whilst that text may have given some indication to consumers that Ms Hinchliffe had been involved in designing the bowls, it was not explicitly made clear, and we considered that it was also not clear that she received royalties from their sale."
The watchdog added: "We also understood that the ad was similar in style to non-ad content created by Sophie Hinchliffe who, as a home cleaning influencer, often shared lifestyle tips on Instagram. As such, we considered that it needed to be made explicitly clear when content such as this, where she offered advice to her followers, was linked to a commercial deal that benefited her financially."
Mrs Hinch argued that the ad was created 'organically', and not as part of any obligation to market the products. However, she reiterated that she would include an 'ad' label on similar posts showing products she had designed in the future.
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