UK Regulator Bans Floki Inu Ads as 'Irresponsible'

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned ads for a meme-based crypto named after Elon Musk's shiba inu dog, saying they were "irresponsible."

• The floki Inu coin was advertised on London's buses and metro network last year under the slogan "Missed Doge? Get Floki."
• The ad regulator concluded the ads "irresponsibly exploited" consumers' fear of missing out and trivialized investment in cryptocurrency.
• By suggesting that consumers who had not purchased dogecoin should invest in a newer alternative, the ads for loki inu implied it, too, would be likely to appreciate quickly in price, the ASA said.
• Floki Inu had argued the ad was aimed at the "informed customer" and that the "average customer" – who was not well versed in crypto investment – would be unlikely to engage with it.
• The ASA concluded, however, that crypto is a "high profile and topical matter" and the ads were addressed to a "general audience."
• The ads must therefore not appear "in the form complained about."
• Floki inu, which launched in July 2021, is priced at $0.0000444 according to data from CoinMarketCap. It hit an all-time high of $0.0003437 on Nov. 4.

Read more: UK’s Advertising Regulator Bans 2 Crypto.com Ads