Competition and Markets Authority / Misleading Online Practices
Helping consumers to avoid sneaky sales tactics
The Online
Rip-off Tip-off
The Challenge
Help consumers spot and avoid misleading online practices (MOPs) such as subscription traps, hidden charges, pressure selling and fake reviews so that they can protect themselves and make better purchasing choices.
The Insight
Despite most people believing they were ‘savvy’ shoppers who wouldn’t fall victim to a MOP, research showed that 7/10 people had experienced them. We needed trusted voices to make the MOPS salient, with emotive language, a familiar context, and clear actions.
Watch the case study
The Platform for Change
The Online Rip-Off Tip-Off used common shopping language to reposition misleading online practices as ‘rip-offs’.
To launch the platform we created ‘Rip-Off Road’, a real-life market with characters and stalls designed to represent the most common MOPs.
We identified consumer champion, Angellica Bell, as the most suitable messenger to front the campaign. Central to the campaign, we produced a three-minute hero film fronted by Angellica to help consumers identify and avoid sneaky sales tactics.
Watch the full film
Impact
115
pieces of news coverage including a segment on BBC’s Lorraine
consumers who recognised the campaign took positive action
6.7m
Awards
The campaign won a Highly Commended at the PRWeek Awards for Best Use of Planning, Strategy and Evaluation, alongside being shortlisted at the Drum PR and Drum Social Purpose Awards for Best Integrated Campaign.