ASA Adjudication on Rimstyle Autodesign Ltd

Ad

A sponsored link and a magazine ad for a wheel rim dealer for motor vehicles.

a. The sponsored link on the Google search engine stated "www.rimstyle.com Exclusive UK importer - 1000s of BBS wheels in stock. Superb prices."

b. The magazine ad stated "BBS exclusive UK importers ... Rimstyle, alloy wheels and tyre specialists. Massive UK Stock Holdings."

Issue

PW Motorsport Ltd challenged whether:

1. the claim "Exclusive UK importer" could be substantiated, and

2. the claim "1000s of BBS in stock" and BBS "Massive UK Stock Holdings" could be substantiated, as they believed Rimstyle supplied to order.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Rimstyle Autodesign Ltd (Rimstyle) said the magazine ad would not be used again. They said they had amended their Google adwords ad. They said they had not intended the term "Exclusive" to mean that they were the sole importer of BBS wheels as they were aware that there were three UK importers, including the complainant. They said they had amended the term.

2. Rimstyle said that there had been some stock issues with BBS wheels before late 2007 and they wanted to make a statement that the wheels were back in stock, whether at the BBS factory in Germany or at their premises in the UK. They said they understood the phrase could be misconstrued and had amended it. They said that in relation to the claim "Massive UK Stock Holdings" they purchased BBS by the pallet and did hold vast stocks. They said they stocked all popular fitments on these popular wheels and offered next day delivery to trade and retail.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA considered that the claims "Exclusive UK importer" in ad (a) and "BBS exclusive UK importers" in ad (b) gave the impression that the advertisers were the only UK importer of BBS wheels; because this was not the case, we concluded the claims were likely to mislead.

On this point ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Misleading advertising).

2. Upheld

We considered that the claim "1000s of BBS wheels in stock" in ad (a) gave the impression that Rimstyle had thousands of BBS wheels in stock in the UK. Because this was not the case, we concluded the claim was misleading.

We considered that the claim "Massive UK Stock Holdings" in ad (b), in the context of a headline claim stating "BBS exclusive UK importers", also gave the impression that thousands of BBS wheels were in stock in the UK. Because they had not proved that, we concluded the claim was misleading.

On this point ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Misleading advertising).

Action

The ads must not be shown again in their current form. We advised Rimstyle to consult the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)