An advertisement for a house claimed it had "lovely gardens" and showed a garden in the accompanying photograph which did not belong to the house, according to the latest report of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.
The advertisement also wrongly claimed that the house's modern garage was originally stables, and that the house dated from 1840, though a drawing of the property from 1856 does not show the building.
The advertisement, from Gunne auctioneers, appeared in The Irish Times on April 8th last, and showed exterior and interior photographs of "an enchanting and surprisingly spacious gate lodge dating from c. 1840" in Blackrock, Co Dublin. The photograph shows an extensive garden in front of the house.
A complaint was made that the advertisement was inaccurate in a number of respects, and the ASAI upheld the complaint. In its conclusion it stated: "The Committee were particularly concerned at the publication of a photograph showing a large garden with the house which was not in fact part of the property and reminded advertisers of the need to closely relate products and descriptions in their advertising."
In their defence the advertisers, Gunne Residential, said they had taken the information about the date of the house and the garage from their client, and they amended references to the garden in further advertising.
Another complaint upheld by the ASAI concerned a photograph of a woman who had just given birth, surrounded by medical staff, and whose feet were in stirrups. Her feet were in gold sandals and the advertisement was for shoes. The complainant considered the advertisement to be offensive.
In its defence the advertiser, Ultimate Shoes in Bray, said they had not set out to offend and were unaware of the ASAI code. They undertook not to repeat the advertisement.
The ASAI also upheld a complaint against the Moran's Red Cow Hotel in Dublin, which had claimed in a radio advertisement to be only 10 minutes' drive from the city centre. The complainant said the quickest he had ever completed the journey was in 20 minutes.
The advertiser said their tests were carried out at 7.15 a.m. and 9 p.m. The Complaints Committee said listeners would expect the time to apply to daytime driving.
The Complaints Committee considered a total of 22 complaints at its June meeting, and found 14 advertisements to be in breach of the Codes of Advertising Standards and Sales Promotion Practice.