A CONSUMERS’ WATCHDOG has said it is considering taking a prosecution against the Irish Mail on Sunday in relation to a marketing stunt it created yesterday.
The National Consumer Agency said that it was considering the action after the newspaper produced a wraparound cover on its edition yesterday that resembled the style and masthead of the Sunday Tribune. The Tribune did not produce an edition yesterday as a receiver was appointed to the company early last week.
The NCA told TheJournal.ie that it couldn’t comment further while it was making the legal decision but that if it brought the Mail on Sunday to court, it would be for a breach of the Consumer Protection Act.
Noirin Hegarty, editor of the Sunday Tribune said yesterday that she was “appalled and shocked” with what she described as a “front page lookalike of the Sunday Tribune with the naked ambition of gaining extra circulation”. The Tribune, while in receivership, could still theoretically be saved if it were to find a buyer to fund the paper within the next month, after INM announced it was pulling out as owner last week.
The Mail on Sunday released a statement saying that its wraparound yesterday was a marketing ploy but that it was intended to “encourage” people to continue buying Irish newspapers, saying that the Mail is written, edited and printed in Ireland.
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