Is this an illegal promotion?

[AgaPanthers]

See attached Ocado advert from Google search for 'SMA gold'

Have you clicked into it, I'd say it's just a google search term the company attached to and if not click in, its not a specific promotion.

You get £20 off your first initial shop that's all. Nothing really tondo with the formula. The same as you get a voucher for £15 off your first sainsburies online shop in stroke sometimes.

But more to the point, why does it matter so much?

Stupid autocorrect

Yes I clicked on it, it's there standard £20 off £80 intro offer, not specific to SMA.

However, I tried just buying 9 cans of SMA Infant Formula (£89.91), and nothing else, and it gives me the £20 off using the voucher.

I'm pretty sure that's illegal.

And I would have thought that attaching to the search term would be illegal as well.

Does it really matter?

Is a one off discount really doing to make someone switch to formula?

I doubt it!

Well they are encouraging people to spend £80 on SMA.

I'm not sure if it matters as such, but if it's illegal they should know better.

Oh for fucks sake, god forbid women who must use/choose to use formula get £20 off.

Haven't you anything else, better to do?

It's illegal you can't discount, promote or offer special offers on first milks.

Ah there we are then, aga and Lloyd you can both sit down together and write a strongly worded letter, problem solved.

Get a fucking grip! Who is actually going to choose ff based on that indirect way of getting a fucking discount. Go and find something important to whinge about.

I share your surprise Aga. Bit naughty from someone like Ocado

Why are you searching for SMA Gold

Are you breast feeding but now wavering now you've seen this?

I see your point but the whole no-promo thing annoys me intensely. And that's as a breastfeeder

Thanks for promoting this, I'm going to place an order.

Actually are MN now being illegal by hosting your thread that draws attention to an illegal offer.

youaremyrain you naughty mare you

boudica WTF? It's illegal end of story whether I agree with that or not you have no clue about. You pick and choose what laws are enforced ffs!

Is this a recent thing?

The discount or it being illegal? It's been illegal for yonks: one of the reasons, I suspect, why 6 months + formula was developed so the manufacturers could get around restrictions on promoting first formulas.

The search term link is automatic, it would take programmers years to exclude every permutation of every name of every type of formula. So no, the Googlebots linking your search to an Ocado paid promotion doesn't seem illegal to me.

However, Ocado giving you a discount on the formula, IMO, is illegal.

But the two issues are very different.

What do you mean it's automatic? They have to specifically advertise for a specific search term. Ocado don't show up for 'Microsoft Office'.

From the T&C

Money off your shop Vouchers cannot be used against the purchase of cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, postage stamps and infant formula

Having worked for Ocado in a previous life, I reckon if you tried to check out it wouldnt let you. Email them and ask. Or try it.

Ocado probably have paid to be boosted up the listings on a page and the googlebots are doing that, not them. Microsoft office wouldnt need the publicity of paying for Page rankings.

Oh for heavens sake. Nothing on tv?

Of course its automatic. I didn't write the algorithm so I don't know which database they draw their search terms from. But they probably have one for all things Ocado hold in stock, or all supermarkets, or all foods/groceries etc. Have you never had a random "Buy Rotten Tomatoes on eBay" or "Buy hamster droppings on Amazon - free shipping!" Googlebot ads when you type in random search terms?

DD1 wouldn't BF (and believe me I tried) and DD2 wouldn't take a bottle (even when the paediatrician and his senior nurse tried).

So I don't think money off and loyalty points in formulae are going to effect women's feeding choices. It simply makes life a bit easier for some families at a very expensive time, if they end up FFing.

It's follow on milk adverts with their insidious "No normal person feeds after six months" message I want to see banned!

You can checkout with the voucher, I've tried.

Also I've done Google advertising before and you have to specifically select the keywords you want. It's not completely impossible that Ocado's IT people have done this from Ocado's own database without direct human involvement, but it's still their responsibility.