Shaun Temby
Shaun has over two decades of expertise in commercial disputes, competition, and consumer law and provides strategic legal solutions to franchising and consumer markets clients.
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Legal Insights
Watchdog Podcast | “You have definitely won!”: Marketing claims, consumers and the MagnaMail decision
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22 October 2026
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2 min read
“You have definitely won!” can be a compelling call to action, but when does promotional language cross the line into misleading conduct?
In this episode of Watchdog, Partner and podcast host Shaun Temby and Special Counsel Christopher Marsh examine the ACCC’s case against MagnaMail and Direct Group.
They explain how the catalogue promotions operated, why the ACCC challenged the representations made to customers, and how the court approached the overall message conveyed by the promotional materials.
The episode explores what the case says about context, the ordinary and reasonable consumer, and the knowledge required to establish accessorial liability. It also considers the court’s findings and the ACCC’s appeal concerning the decision in favour of MagnaMail.
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About the guest speaker Christopher Marsh
Christopher Marsh is a highly experienced disputes lawyer, specialising in competition and consumer law, particularly in relation to product safety and the energy and franchising sectors. He has extensive experience handling disputes and litigation involving breaches of the Australian Consumer Law and Franchising Code of Conduct, together with commercial contractual disputes and cartel conduct, including acting both for and against the ACCC.
Key topics discussed
- How MagnaMail’s trade promotions worked and why they came under scrutiny from the ACCC.
- The ACCC’s case against MagnaMail and its parent company, Direct Group.
- How the court approached the dominant message of promotional material and the perspective of the ordinary and reasonable consumer.
- Why context and the characteristics of the relevant customer base were important to the defence.
- The court’s findings in favour of MagnaMail and Direct Group, and the principles relevant to accessorial liability.
- What the ACCC’s appeal means for the MagnaMail decision.
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The Watchdog podcast series discusses the ACCC’s leading cases throughout the year and how well they performed against their priorities.
Christopher Marsh
Christopher specialises in competition and consumer law advice and litigation, often advising franchisors on the Franchising Code of Conduct and resolving franchisee disputes.
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