Deliveroo advert banned for being ‘misleading’ after 300 complaints

If you’ve watched TV in the last couple of months there’s a very high chance you will have seen that Deliveroo advert where a woman struts through a house delivering a wide range of takeaways to people.

You know the one, she grabs the food from the driver before shouting: “Deliveroo – Chinese, KFC, Wagamama, Greek salad – no carbs before Marbs eh Karen?”

And it didn’t stop there, as she then pulled out a Pizza Express, Burger King, and Five Guys, as well as a korma for the typically unadventurous Deano – get a real curry Deano ffs.

If you found it as annoying as I did then there’s some good news, as it’s now been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being misleading, the BBC reports.

Some people complained – 300 of them to be precise – because they say the ad falsely claimed you could get an order from multiple places in one go, which we all know you can’t – you’d have to pay multiple delivery fees with the food arriving separately.

The ASA upheld the complaints and found Deliveroo to be in breach of their rules for misleading advertising, even though the on-screen text stated: “Geographical restrictions apply. Separate orders must be made for each restaurant.”

Deliveroo

Deliveroo’s parent company, Roofoods, responded by saying the advert was of a ‘ whimsical and fantastical nature’ and was not set in an ordinary household, depicting an ordinary Deliveroo order – for example the ‘magic bag’ produced many more meals than an ordinary bag could ever possibly contain.

They say it was designed to promote the wide variety of meal types and restaurants you can order from via their app.

The 300 complaints make it the third most complained about ad of 2019 so far, after a Go Compare advert where the opera singer was involved in a car accident (336 complaints), and a poster advertising Cheltenham Fireworks featuring a dog wearing ear defenders (317).