Diary of a CEO podcaster, Steven Bartlett claims he “didn’t do anything” that led to adverts for nutrition products promoted by him being banned after a UK watchdog said they were misleading.
The businessman cum TV star promoted products for Huel and Zoe without making clear he has business interests in both companies. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ads, seen on Facebook, could be mistaken for an independent review and therefore mislead consumers.
In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, and his first time responding to the watchdog’s decision, Bartlett denied responsibility for breaching the rules and said he “didn’t post or say anything.”
“Huel posted an advert on their channel and then Zoe posted an advert on their channel. It’s nothing that I said or posted, there was nothing on my channels,” he told Arabian Business.
At the time of the ban in August 2024, both Huel and Zoe argued against the decision, saying it would be clear to customers they had a “commercial relationship” with Bartlett, who is an investor at Zoe and a director at Huel.
Before speaking to a packed audience at the penultimate Sharjah International Book Fair, the entrepreneur, author and creator of Europe’s number one podcast, defended his position, telling Arabian Business, “It was something Huel and Zoe posted on their channels obviously because I’m linked to them. I can’t tell you would I do anything differently because I didn’t do anything.”
In the advert for Zoe, a health testing and diet advice company, the 31-year-old is pictured with a patch on his arm alongside a quote saying: “If you haven’t tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life”.
The ASA says it received two complaints that it wasn’t clear from the advert that he had a commercial interest in the company.
In its ruling, it said that the advert could seem like an independent review and knowing he was an investor was key for customers to be able to make an informed decision about the product.
One of the two banned ads for meal supplement company Huel saw the podcaster in a similar situation, pictured drinking one of their products with a quote saying: “This is Huel’s best product”.
In the second advert, he was seen in a video saying: “This is the best product that Huel have released”.
A Zoe spokesperson said it believed its ad had been clearly marked and was compliant with the rules, while Huel defended its adverts by arguing that consumers “generally understood” that when celebrities endorsed products they did so “in the context of a commercial relationship”.
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