Email marketers love a clever subject line, “Today only!” or “Ends tonight!” and for good reason. It’s the very first thing your audience sees and can drive open rates. But what happens when the great engaged subscriber with those familiar tricks becomes a legal risk?
But a recent Washington State Supreme Court ruling (Brown v. Old Navy, LLC) has put subject lines firmly under the legal microscope, and it’s something UK marketers should be paying attention to.
When “Limited Time” Becomes Limited Liability
Here’s what happened: Old Navy got slapped with a class-action lawsuit over its email subject lines. Not for spamming, not for buying dodgy lists, but for using subject lines that were deemed “false or misleading” under Washington’s Consumer Email Marketing Act.
Each misleading subject line carries a penalty of up to $500 per recipient. Do the maths: send one slightly misleading “LAST CHANCE!” email to 10,000 Washington residents, and you’re potentially looking at a $5 million problem.
Suddenly, that cleverly ambiguous subject line doesn’t seem quite so clever.
No More Misleading Information or Creative Urgency
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that ANY false or misleading information in subject lines violates the law, not just attempts to hide the commercial nature of an email. This means those marketing staples we all love (and love to hate) are now in the firing line:
- “Ending tonight!” (when it’s actually running through the weekend)
- “Last chance” (for the third time this month)
- “Just for you” (sent to 100,000 subscribers)
- “Limited time” (that somehow lasts for longer than expected)
Who’s Impacted by the Email Subject Line Ruling
Here in the UK, email marketing is already regulated under GDPR and PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations). These rules require:
- Marketing emails should be clearly identified as such.
- No misleading or false information in headers or subject lines.
- Honest representation of promotions, discounts, or offers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also enforces rules regarding misleading advertising, including email campaigns.
You might be thinking… This is just an American problem, but just because we haven’t yet seen a Washington-style ruling doesn’t mean we should breathe a sigh of relief yet. Misleading emails can lead to fines, investigations and even reputational damage. With growing scrutiny of digital marketing practices, it’s not hard to imagine similar rules being set here.
What UK Marketers Should Do Now
Beyond legal compliance, there’s a bigger reason to get this right: trust. I know when we have opened emails, if we feel tricked, we are more likely to unsubscribe, ignore you and complain about it. Worse, misleading emails can actually damage your sender’s reputation and affect deliverability.
We saw this first-hand with one of our esports clients. Their emails were struggling due to their sender reputation. We stepped in with an IP warming plan and fixed their deliverability. The change was huge!
We were pleased to increase their open rates, emails stopped landing in spam, and trust with their audience began to rebuild.
You can read the full case study here: Boosting Email Deliverability for eSports Client
What This Means for Your CRM Strategy
So, Washington isn’t alone in this; you’ve got California, Georgia, Kansas, and Maryland that have similar laws. So if you are sending to those areas, your CRM platform needs to track not just what you’re sending, but where you’re sending it.
Avoid misleading messages. Don’t say “today only” or “ends tonight” unless it’s 100% true. Here are some witty, honest alternatives: “Open me faster than you open TikTok,” or “We’re not ending tonight, but our sale is.”
How WeDoCRM Can Support with Compliance and Creativity
This could actually be good news for email marketers who believe in honest, value-driven subject lines. It makes it fairer, encourages transparency, and rewards brands that treat their subscribers with respect.
Plenty of people like to say “email is dead,” but nothing could be further from the truth. As a marketing channel, email has never been more valuable. It’s cost-effective, has incredible reach, and when used well, can deliver a huge return.
The difference today is how you use it, and we are glad this news has been flagged for us in the UK. Gone are the days of blasting the same message to everyone. Modern email marketing is about finesse and data. Segment your audience, personalise your content, and you’ll quickly see engagement and revenue climb.
At WeDoCRM, we continually help brands strike a balance between compliance and creativity. From Google’s new shielded email feature to GDPR and email best practices, staying ahead of the curve is essential.
If you want a CRM and email strategy that’s both compliant and effective, let’s chat! We would love to hear from you!
