ASA Adjudication on Sandicliffe Motor Group Ltd

Ad

A radio ad, for Sandicliffe Motor Group, featured three men talking. The first said "Officer! Another dodgy dealer for you. We made a citizen's arrest.” The second said “Sandi straddled him while I handcuffed him." The third man said "Average day for you two then? Suppose you want your reward?". The first man continued "Yes please!". Another voice said "Reward yourself when you choose any used car in Sandicliffe's spring collection ... Say no to dodgy dealers, and save twice with your MPS approved dealers Sandicliffe." Music in the background of the ad was similar to that of the consumer TV programme 'Crimewatch'.

Issue

One listener challenged whether the claim "MPS approved dealers" was misleading, because it implied that the Sandicliffe Motor Group were approved by an official trade body.

BCAP Radio Code

Response

Sandicliffe Motor Group (Sandicliffe) explained that 'MPS' stood for Midlands Price Squad which was a tongue-in-cheek creation, designed by them and their agencies, used to help draw people's attention to what to expect when purchasing a used car from a dealer during the credit crunch.  As prices across the UK fell, they said they wanted to emphasise to customers that price was not the only consideration; quality of service was also important and they should be aware of "corner-cutting" by other less scrupulous dealers.  It was in this context that they created the fictitious body, 'MPS', which included a website and checklist for buyers.

Sandicliffe did not intend to undermine the work of Trading Standards or other regulatory bodies, but actually sought to support it.  The 'MPS' checklist was designed as a guide so that consumers knew what to ask for when buying a car and could be used as a basis for comparison with other retailers.  Sandicliffe believed it made the buying process clearer and guaranteed the customer a better service, which could only be a positive thing.  They therefore disagreed that they had done anything wrong but nevertheless agreed to amend their advertising, if required.

Global Radio (GR) said the ad was the fifth in a series of six during which listeners were introduced to the concept of the 'Midlands Price Squad'.  They explained that the first four ads included the phrase 'Midlands Price Squad', as well as the acronym 'MPS'.  GR therefore believed listeners would understand what the 'MPS' acronym in this ad meant, having heard the previous ads in the campaign.

GR said the ads were tongue-in-cheek in style: the use of the Crimewatch theme tune and the use of the characters 'Sandi' and 'Cliffe', which played on the heritage radio characters Julian and Sandy from 'Round the Horne' and 'Beyond our Ken'.

GR said MPS was not an official trade body, but had come about when a group of nine car dealerships agreed to participate in a programme that involved giving consumers a checklist of 14 guarantees that applied to all of their vehicles.  Those dealerships then invested in a website, www.midlandpricesquad.com, which gave details of the guarantees.  GR said the nine dealerships involved were currently all Sandicliffe dealerships, although there were discussions about extending involvement to dealers outside the group.  GR therefore believed that, while it may not meet the definition of a trade body, the 'MPS' programme was a guarantee to consumers that they were assured of certain standards of service and certain benefits when they bought from dealers who were part of the 'MPS' scheme.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the comments made by Sandicliffe and GR.  We considered that listeners would infer from the claim "... MPS approved dealers ..." that Sandicliffe was a member of an official trade body, which operated independently of Sandicliffe and which required them to adhere to an externally enforced code of practice.  

We understood that 'MPS' was a fictitious body, created by Sandicliffe, and was made up of nine car dealerships which all belonged to the Sandicliffe group; therefore the claim "... MPS approved dealers ..." referred only to Sandicliffe dealers.  

We noted the argument that listeners were likely to have heard other ads in the campaign, which also made the claim, and would therefore be aware that MPS was not an official trade body.  Although other ads stated "Midlands Price Squad" and some gave details of the website, none explained that MPS was not an official trade body or that "MPS approved dealers" referred to Sandicliffe dealers only.  

We were concerned that some listeners might not have heard the other ads in the campaign and, even if they had, might not have been aware that MPS was not an official trade body.  We concluded that the claim "... MPS approved dealers ..." misleadingly implied Sandicliffe was approved by an official trade body.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 3.1 (Misleadingness).

Action

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)