Myleene Klass’ Instagram posts breached advertising standards over lack of ‘ad’ disclosure, ASA rules

Myleene Klass has had three of her Instagram posts banned after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found she failed to indicate that they were ads.

The advertising watchdog found three posts promoting her book, They Don’t Teach This At School, Next clothes and footwear brand Skechers, all failed to include any clear messaging they were ads.

A post at the centre of the inquiry saw various celebrities — including Alex Jones, Chris Evans, Kate Garraway and Lorraine Kelly — appearing in Klass’ Instagram reel shared on May 13.

The video saw some of the famous faces holding the book and answering the question: “What’s something really important that you should’ve been taught in school…but you weren’t?”

The reel ended with the singer and radio presenter, 44, holding a copy of her book with the text “wish granted” appearing across the screen.

After the clip was uploaded, a viewer complained to the watchdog that the post was not obviously identifiable as an ad.

The ASA upheld the complaint against the social media post, as well as others featuring Next clothes and Skechers trainers, which said that they did not make their commercial nature clear.

Klass shared a post on May 16, as well as a reel during the same month, of her advertising a bra top, pink drawstring trousers, a bikini, a floral printed dress and high-heeled sandals by Next.

She tagged it with MyleeneKlassXNext as well as nextofficial but failed to make her followers aware that it was an advert.

The broadcaster also uploaded a post of her wearing pink trainers and a baseball cap belonging to Skechers, as well as a story on June 14 of her and another woman wearing pink clogs by the same company.

The retailer said it had an agreement with Klass that she should make positive references to the brand in interviews, public appearances and on social media and should make it clear that she had a commercial relationship with Next.

Skechers said the posts were part of a contractual relationship with Klass, which required her to comply with all applicable laws, including advertising laws.

Representatives for Klass said that there was some “confusion” over what was and wasn’t an ad but that she would caption future posts with #ad.

The ASA said: “We welcomed Ms Klass’ assurance that she would be adding #ad to her posts in future.

“However, because at the time of the complaint the post’s commercial intent had not been made clear upfront, for example with the use of an identifier such as #ad, we considered that it was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication and concluded that it breached the code.”

The Standard has contacted Myleene Klass’ rep for comment.