H20 Car Valeting Centres placed leaflets on vehicle windscreens.
It looked like a yellow parking ticket, bordered with black and yellow checks, with text reading: “PARKING FINE”.
Smaller text said it was not a parking ticket but “you are entitled to a special offer from the UK’s leading car valeting company”.
The ticket was filled out and signed “M Mouse”.
Solihull Council Trading Standards objected that the ad caused distress when first seen, as it appeared to be a genuine parking ticket.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it was similar in colour, size, appearance and layout to a parking ticket.
While the leaflet read in its entirety was clearly marketing, there were sufficient similarities for people to initially mistake it for a parking fine, causing distress for some.
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