Cleaning guru and social media star Mrs Hinch was slapped with a ban on Instagram after failing to make clear she was advertising her own products to fans and followers last year. The popular influencer, whose real name is Sophie Hinchcliffe, currently has more than 4.6 million followers on social media and is known for her cleaning tips and tricks.
However, it has emerged that the 33-year-old landed herself in a spot of trouble more than 12 months ago with a UK watchdog over her lack of 'ad' tags in two posts on Instagram. Back in January last year, the influencer uploaded a story showing a notebook with the words: “If you’re a little mad like me tap here for yours.”
A link embedded in the story led users onto Amazon, where they could then buy the notebook themselves. She then wrote: " In my own notebook of course," as reported by the Mirror.
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The post sparked 34 complaints from fans as many were unimpressed with the cleaning expert's failure to initially clarify that the post was essentially an ad for one of her own products. According to Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the commercial intent of the post was “ambiguous”.
Mrs Hinch responded to confirm the notebook was of her own design and was still available to buy in several retailers. Though, she believed it was clear the post was an ad and that it was her own product she was promoting.
She went on to say she would be happy to include "ad" in future posts that had links to her own products. She added that she would continue to do so for up to 12 months after the products had been available for purchase.
At the time, the ASA pointed out that the line "Mrs Hinch Life in Lists" and her statement that it was "in my own notebook of course", only appeared at the end of the ad. So, "we considered the ad was not immediately clear as to Ms Hinchliffe’s commercial relationship with the notebook," the organisation concluded. It ruled the ad must not appear again.
A separate ruling also came shortly after, regarding a post from January 27. In it, the Instagram star posted heart-shaped bowls, along with the caption: “On a right roll here. Even put some ‘nibbles’ (In my own hinch heart bowls, I love em) #hinchxtesco.”
Both Mrs Hinch and Tesco confirmed the influencer received royalties for the products that formed part of her range, but that the ad did not form part of their agreement, which had expired on November 1, 2021. Mrs Hinch said the ad was created “organically” and not as part of any obligation to market the products.
In regards to the second post, the ASA said: "Whilst that text may have given some indication to consumers that Ms Hinchliffe had been involved in designing the bowls, it was not explicitly made clear, and we considered that it was also not clear that she received royalties from their sale.
"We also understood that the ad was similar in style to non-ad content created by Sophie Hinchliffe who, as a home cleaning influencer, often shared lifestyle tips on Instagram. As such, we considered that it needed to be made explicitly clear when content such as this, where she offered advice to her followers, was linked to a commercial deal that benefited her financially."
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