Funeral Service Times August 2017 November 2018 | Page 47

DEATH FOR SALE: ADVERTISING FUNERAL SERVICES 47
legal matters. The company said that the ads
did not specifically state that the average
cost of a funeral was £7,622, adding that the
figure represented other costs related to
the funeral. They somewhat shadely stated
that neither the script nor the on-screen text
of either ad stated that the cost of £7,622
related specifically to the average cost of a
funeral. The ASA acknowledged that while
the advert did not specify what the £7,622
related to, they noted that the ads asked
“How much do you think a funeral costs?”
The authority considered that consumers
would understand any specific costs listed
following this question to relate to the cost of
elements of a funeral rather than the general
costs associated with a death. The ASA told
Global Life Distribution that they must no
longer show the advert and strictly told the
company “not to mislead consumers by
exaggerating the average cost of a funeral”.
With honest advertising mistakes
happening regularly, along with somewhat
more sinister attempts to deceive
consumers as warned about by Beyond’s
Strang, the ASA put together specialised
guidelines for funeral service providers
on advertising funeral services, creating
adverts around the subject of death as well
as one for independent operators on claims
www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk
of independence or impartiality. The ASA
says most of the issues it has faced relating
to funeral service providers have focused
on the advertisers’ descriptions of their
businesses as independent, family-owned
or family-run. It says these claims connote to
consumers, that the advertiser can provide
a personal touch or level of understanding
that might be perceived as lacking from
a large corporation. ASA guidelines state:
“To be able to describe their business as
independent, marketers should be able to
demonstrate that they are legally separate
from other funeral services or chains.” When
describing this guideline, the ASA says that in
2005, a funeral home was told it could not
be described as an independent business,
because it was owned by a company that
ran 43 other funeral homes. Just because a
company may satisfy another organisation’s
criteria for ‘independent’ does not mean
they will satisfy the ASA’s criteria.
According to the ASA another common
mistake made by funeral service providers
is to claim they own a masonry service
as opposed to offering the service via a
third party. ASA guidelines state: “We
understand it is common practice for
funeral directors to provide advice and
procurement of monumental masonry
but marketers should avoid implying they
have their own masons if that is not the
case.” With the rise of eco-friendly funeral
services, the ASA says marketers wishing to
make environmental claims, should check
they do not “over-claim”. The authority says
two funeral companies have been found to
breach the Code by making claims such as
“environmentally friendly”.
When speaking of the broader topic
of death in advertising the ASA says “no
matter how sensitively it is handled, the
topic of death nearly always generates
complaints”, giving even more of a reason
for funeral professionals to tread carefully
when advertising their services. The biggest
faux pas an advertiser can make with the
topic of death appears to be within imagery
according to the ASA. The authority says
it is “difficult to judge accurately how
the target audience will react to images
of death”. It seems that with so many
guidelines to tiptoe around especially
with the sensitive nature of the funeral
profession it is perhaps best to play it safe
when advertising funeral services, however
it seems Beyond must be commended for
trying to break down taboos which allow
dodgy dealers to benefit, even if they were
deemed by some to be offensive.
NOVEMBER 2018