Steven Bartlett-fronted Huel and Zoe ads banned for not disclosing financial ties 

Ads for health-focused brands Huel and Zoe featuring entrepreneur Steven Bartlett have been banned by the ad watchdog for being “misleading” as they did not disclose the social media influencer has a stake in each business.

Bartlett sits on Huel’s board and has invested in Zoe, but none of this information was shared in the ads. Ambassadors must declare any financial interests in businesses when advertising them, according to the CAP code.  

The ad for health tech startup Zoe, published on Facebook, featured a quote from Bartlett stating: “If you haven’t tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life”. Similar ads for Huel featured testimony from the Diary of a CEO podcast host declaring “This is Huel’s best product” and “This is the best product that Huel have released”.  

Trust in advertising industry ‘boosted by ASA campaign’

Responding to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Zoe argued the average consumer would understand when a celebrity appeared in its advertising, that there is a commercial relationship.  

The business also said if it made a specific disclosure about Barlett’s relationship with Zoe, it would have a wider impact on other brands and influencers.  

Huel gave a similar defense, saying that when celebrities endorsed products, consumers generally understood they did so in the context of a commercial relationship with the company behind the product. 

Both brands have been told not to post the ads in the same format again.

Six ads by influencer Grace Beverley banned as part of ‘precedent setting’ ASA crackdown  

This isn’t the first time Bartlett has been subject to investigation by the ASA. In August 2022, the watchdog cracked down on the entrepreneur for not disclosing an ad on his podcast.  

These rulings are part of a wider crackdown on misleading influencer marketing by the ASA. In May, the ad watchdog banned six ads from entrepreneur and influencer Grace Beverley advertising her business, Tala, for not being properly disclosed as ads.  

The case was “precedent-setting,” Miles Lockwood, director of complaints and investigations at the ASA, told Marketing Week at the time.  

“It makes it clear that, even when influencers are cross-posting with a business account, they need to properly label their ads. We don’t expect the public to play detective to work out whether they’re seeing paid-for content. An easily visible ‘#ad’ makes all the difference,” he said.