Advertisement
Advertisement

Crypto Token Floki Inu Breached Advertising Standards, Says UK’s ASA

By:
Sujha Sundararajan
Updated: Mar 2, 2022, 15:38 GMT+00:00

London’s public transport network ran Floki Inu ads last autumn, proclaiming “Missed Doge? Get Floki,” which the UK’s ASA calls “irresponsible.”

Floki Inu

In this article:

Key Insights:

  • British ad regulator bans crypto meme coin Floki Inu for trivializing investment in the market.
  • Floki Inu’s ad across the London Underground last year took advantage of consumers’ naivety.
  • The clampdown follows ASA’s ban on crypto marketing last December.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on Wednesday banned meme-based crypto Floki Inu ads after concluding that it was “irresponsible.”

“Missed Doge? Get Floki” Exploited Consumers

Per ASA rulings, the ad appeared across the London Underground last November featuring an image of a cartoon dog wearing a Viking helmet alongside the slogan “Missed Doge? Get Floki.”

According to the regulator, the ad promotion exploited consumers’ inexperience and credulity. The campaign for Floki Inu has deliberately lured consumers who may have missed out on making money from other successful cryptocurrencies, and in this case, Dogecoin.

“We considered that the use of a cartoon imagery gave the impression that purchasing cryptocurrency was a light-hearted and trivial matter,” the ASA ruled.

The watchdog also said that the promotion primarily targeted the “informed consumer” to eye on a new coin opportunity. While the ad protected an “average consumer” by the warning text in smaller font at the bottom of the ad, they would see it as a play on words but “not understand the ad without further research.”

“We told Floki Inu to ensure that they did not irresponsibly exploit consumers’ fear of missing out and trivialize cryptocurrency investment,” the regulator said.

Floki Inu is a meme-themed cryptocurrency inspired by Shiba Inu and named after a dog owned by Tesla chief Elon Musk. The project runs on both the Ethereum blockchain and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network.

The rise of the Shiba Inu coin was recently cited in the news as scammers have potentially used the brand to steal users’ funds on Tron. PeckShield released an announcement regarding the Shiba Inu token on the Tron blockchain, a scam that appears to be a honeypot for Shiba Inu.

Floki Up 20% Today

Floki Inu has traded 20.3% higher at $0.00004439 over the 24 hours preceding early Wednesday morning. It is currently trading at $0.00004481 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap.

Possible catalysts that have driven to the bullish sign are that the meme crypto was among the ten most mentioned coins by retweets on Twitter. Cointrendz data said that it attracted over 385 retweets at press time.

Additionally, crypto exchange Huobi Global announced Tuesday that it has listed Floki Inu and will soon launch a trading function.

About the Author

Sujha Sundararajan is a writer-journalist with 7+ years of experience in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and in general, FinTech news reporting. Her articles have featured in multiple journals such as CoinDesk, Protos, Bitcoin Magazine, CCN, Asia Blockchain Review, BeInCrypto and EconoTimes to name a few. She holds a Master’s in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media and is also an accomplished Indian classical singer.

Advertisement