The ruling related to a leaflet for the indoor golf operator, seen in April 2026, which was placed on a car windscreen in a yellow and black plastic wrapper.
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Text on the wrapper stated “PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE ENCLOSED” and “WARNING. It is an offence for any person other than the driver to remove this notice”.
The leaflet inside included handwritten-style text saying “MADE YOU LOOK!” across a penalty charge notice template.
Further text stated: “DO NOT WORRY YOUR PARKING IS SPOT ON” and “WE JUST WANTED YOUR ATTENTION... NOW THAT WE HAVE IT”.
Smaller text at the bottom said: “SORRY FOR THE SHOCK IF YOU WANT TO COMPLAIN VISIT: WWW.GOLFFANG.CO.UK TO BOOK IN AND COME TELL US IN PERSON.”
The Golf Fang logo appeared in the bottom right corner.
Complaint upheld
The complainant, who found the advert on their car windscreen, challenged whether it was obviously identifiable as marketing and whether it was likely to cause unjustifiable distress.
Big Fang Collective, which trades as Golf Fang, said the advert was part of a short promotional campaign that had ended and would not be repeated.
The company acknowledged the outer packaging, which referred to a penalty charge notice, may not have been obviously identifiable as a marketing communication when first seen.
It said the packaging had been sourced from a third-party supplier and had not been designed to replicate any specific local authority or enforcement body.
However, the operator accepted the format, wording and placement may have led recipients to interpret it as an official document.
Parking ticket impression
The ASA said the wording, yellow and black wrapper and placement on car windscreens contributed to the impression the advert was a parking ticket.
It acknowledged most consumers would understand the leaflet was marketing once opened, but said this was not clear from the outset.
The watchdog also said seeing something resembling a parking ticket on a windscreen was likely to cause immediate distress, particularly for vulnerable consumers or those facing financial difficulty.
The ASA said the advert breached rules on recognition of marketing communications and harm and offence.
It ruled the advert must not appear again in the form complained about.
The ASA told Big Fang Collective to ensure future marketing communications were clearly identifiable as advertising and did not cause unjustified distress by resembling parking tickets.
The ruling is the latest in a number of ASA decisions involving hospitality and drinks marketing, after previous adverts from brands including BrewDog, Strongbow, Jägermeister and Hawkstone were also challenged by the regulator.
