Deliveroo TV advert banned after being deemed ‘misleading’

A TV advert for food delivery service Deliveroo has been banned for suggesting the food delivery firm could deliver anywhere in the UK.

The ad, aired in March, showed various scenes of people using the Deliveroo app and having food delivered to them, all in a variety of places and circumstances.

The voice-over stated, “Order what you want; where you want; when you want it” as someone was shown receiving a delivery in a field after apparently tunnelling under-ground to escape from prison, and as an astronaut was shown receiving a delivery in space. On-screen text at the bottom of the page stated “Some restrictions apply, obviously…”.

The advert received 22 complaints from people who, knowing that Deliveroo did not deliver to their areas, said that the ad was misleading.

Deliveroo owner Roofoods, claimed they did not believe the advert came across as representative of real life, but said they were intended to show that it was possible to order from Deliveroo in different everyday locations such as at work or at a friend’s house.

ASA said: “Given the absolute nature of the claim and the absence from the claim of any additional explanation, we considered they were likely to expect that those features of the service, including availability, applied throughout the UK without restriction.”

The ad must not appear again in its current form and Roofoods has been told to ensure that similar claims do not appear in its marketing again.

A spokesperson from Deliveroo added: “We know some people will be disappointed to hear that Deliveroo can’t yet deliver to outer space and is still to reach some parts of the UK. We are, however, excited to be expanding rapidly across the UK and reaching more customers than ever before.

“Deliveroo designed a playful and humorous advert to show that, through our service, people are able to order food to a wide range of places for a range of occasions. The company took steps to make sure this wasn’t misleading, including by stating that restrictions apply and by having the advert cleared by specialists.”