Huel

Steven Bartlett isn’t your typical Hueligan.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, podcast host and one of the “dragons” on the British reality pitch show “Dragons’ Den,” Bartlett is a director at the supplement company Huel – a fact that wasn’t disclosed in two of the company’s Facebook ads featuring Bartlett earlier this year.

According to the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority, it should have been.

The ads featured what the ASA said many consumers would interpret as a testimonial from Bartlett about Huel’s Daily Greens powder, which Bartlett touts in the ads as the company’s “best product.” The caption of one of the posts stated, in part, “Ever wondered what Steven Bartlett actually thinks of Huel’s Daily Greens? Well there you have it.”

In response to the ASA’s inquiry, Huel argued that it shouldn’t have been required to disclose the exact nature of Bartlett’s commercial relationship with the company because the Facebook posts were clearly marked as ads. The ASA disagreed.

We acknowledged Huel’s comments and agreed that some consumers might have thought that the ads were part of a commercial relationship with Steven Bartlett. However, many consumers were unlikely to understand from the ads that Steven Bartlett had a financial interest in Huel’s performance. We considered that Bartlett’s directorship was material to consumers’ understanding of the ads, and so relevant for them in making an informed decision about the advertised product.

The ASA said that the ads must not appear again and told Huel to ensure that future ads do not mislead consumers on its commercial relationships.

TINA.org did not find the ads at issue in Huel’s Facebook ad library.

Find more of our coverage on celebrity endorsements here.