'Like a criminal' - Donal Skehan laughs off warning over promoting ads on Instagram

Celebrity chef Donal Skehan has laughed off the recent controversy regarding him not correctly labelling advertising material on his Instagram. 

In July, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) issued Skehan with a compliance notice over his failure to properly label social media posts as a paid promotion.

According to the CCPC, the inspection identified "a failure to use the appropriate labels to disclose the commercial nature of the content published."

The breach of the guidelines related to posts involving Skehan's own brand Wind Shore Goods, which sells a range of products including premium olive oils and kitchen pantry items. 

The compliance report stated: "I am of the opinion that you, Donal Skehan, engaged in the prohibited act or practice outlined in the statement of alleged contravention above, by failing to disclose that products relating to ‘Wind Shore Goods’ promoted on your Instagram account @donalskehan were promoted in a paid capacity, and without using appropriate disclosure labels such as‘ Ad’, ‘#ad’ etc."

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Under consumer protection law, social media influencers must not mislead consumers through unfair practices such as hidden or mislabelled advertising. This means influencers must clearly label posts of a commercial nature.

The TV chef was warned to make these ads clear in "all future instances" as his social media channels "will be the subject of further inspection" to ensure adherence to the compliance directions.

Following the controversy, Skehan appeared on his 'Let's Do This' podcast to discuss the warning from the consumer watchdog with his co-host Arthur Gourounlian.

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He told Gourounlian in last week's episode of the podcast: "I'm lucky to be here because I've been walking around like a criminal. I've been on the front page of all the newspapers. I got wrapped on the knuckles."

Skehan explained the situation, while laughing: "I went to yoga class this morning and I was walking in and I was like 'God people are looking like.' I got the wrap on the knuckles because I promoted my own brand on my own Instagram page and got an enforcement letter to tell me that I need to disclose.

"So now I'm disclosing. I'm literally just going to walk around with a tattoo of #AD #OWNBRAND on my forehead from here on out. It's just going to save me a lot of trouble. I have no problem disclosing."

As he and Gourounlian joked about not being cut out for the criminal lifestyle, Skehan laughed: "I feel like a criminal and maybe I am one too."