ASA Adjudication on Hollywood Classics Movies Ltd
Hollywood Classics Movies Ltd t/a
OH (Open Heavens) TV
WRN Broadcast Media Village
Unit 2, Wyvil Court
10 Wyvil Road
London
SW8 2TG
Date:
5 October 2011
Media:
Television
Sector:
Household
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
E11-161372
Ad
Andrew Bernard, the host, and Dave Gordon, the Harvey Water Softener expert, discussed the benefits of having a Harvey Water Softener. They demonstrated the effects of the water softener on water and stated:
“You can see already just how that pipe’s gone from almost an inch down to barely a quarter of an inch. That’s pure limescale! ... At worst blockages in your plumbing could lead to your copper cylinders filling up with scale and ending up in the scrap yard ... Softened water will remove all the scale built up in your pipes over the years ... the day we plumb it in we’re going to eliminate limescale from your property forever ...”
“That will increase your heating bill by about 55%. That’s quite a big saving. That’s a huge saving ... If I’ve got all that covering around those elements, that must cost me more energy, more money to heat that element, to heat my boiler, to run my washing machine, to run my dishwasher. So this isn’t just saving you money on washing powders and detergents, it’s saving you money on energy. Systems scaled up by an eighth of an inch will increase your bill by 15%, a quarter inch will increase it by 50%.”
Andrew said soft water was “Great for people who suffer from eczema or psoriasis or skin problems”. A woman said “One of my children had eczema and her skin was very dry and that’s virtually gone now since I’ve had the water softener. We have no problems with that at all ...”. A young girl said “Since I’ve had the water softener it’s made my eczema a lot more controllable. My body is one of the worst parts of me also my back and a part of me that was particularly bad was around my ankles but since I have the water softener the eczema has gone but it has left scarring but the irritations now all gone. Overall I would say since I’ve had a water softener it’s made a real difference to my life ... it’s been really good for my eczema.”
“... They [washing machines] pack up in a couple of years if you don’t look after them ... and of course the damage that that is doing to your appliances, your dishwasher, your washing machine. That’s gonna be eliminating ... so your washing machine will last longer, your dishwasher will last longer, your boiler will last longer, your kettle will last longer ... and on replacing the items that are going to pack up. A bathroom suite can be as much as £3000 to replace a bathroom suite ... it’s expensive to replace a dishwasher and a washing machine ... The biggest and best savings come in extending the life of appliances like the kettle.” On-screen text stated “Save on replacement cost of applainces [sic] Replacement Cost £35.00, Total Outlay £35.00, emersion heater Replacement Cost £100.00, Total Outlay £135.00, dishwasher Replacement Cost £350.00, Total Outlay £485.00, washing machine Replacement Cost £400.00, Total Outlay £885.00, showerheads Replacement Cost £400.00, Total Outlay £1,285.00, copper cylinder Replacement Cost £800.00, Total Outlay £2,085.00, plumbing and taps Replacement Cost £1000, Total Outlay £3085, Central Heating Systems Replacement Cost £2000.00, Total Outlay £5085.00, Boiler Replacement Cost £2,000, Total Outlay £7,085 and bathroom suite Replacement Cost £2195.00, Total Outlay £10,000.
Softened water will remove all the scale built up in your pipes over the years. It will remove the scale build up in your copper cylinder and heat exchangers in modern condensing boilers allowing them to work at 100% efficiency”.
Issue
Monitoring staff challenged whether:
1. the Harvey’s Water Softener could immediately eliminate limescale forever, as claimed;
2. the build up of limescale could "... increase your heating bill by about 55%", thereby implying that a Harvey Water Softener could reduce heating bills by the same amount;
3. the Harvey’s Water Softener would help psoriasis and eczema sufferers;
4. the ad exaggerated the effect hard water had on household appliances and whether the savings claims in relation to the featured household appliances misleadingly exaggerated the extent of potential savings;
5. the claim "... allowing them to work at 100% efficiency", in relation to the featured household appliances, was misleading.
BCAP Code
Response
OHTV did not comment directly on the challenges made and eventually withdrew the advertisement.
1. Harvey Water Softeners (Harvey's) said the installation of a water softener removed 100% of the calcium and magnesium, the minerals that form limescale, from the incoming water supply. The water softener therefore removed the cause of the limescale; and would also breakdown and remove any existing limescale. It accepted that not all existing limescale would disappear immediately but maintained that the cause of the limescale was immediately removed.
2. Harvey's said heating bills could increase by up to 55% if the heating system and heat exchanger were sufficiently scaled up. The water softener would de-scale any heat exchanger and reduce costs by the same amount that it had increased due to limescale. It conceded that the ad could imply that all heating bills were increased by 55% due to hard water limescale, which was inaccurate as the amount saved would vary depending on the home.
3. Harvey's said eczema and psoriasis sufferers were often very satisfied with the results offered by a water softener, although those results had not yet been medically proven. It said it intended the ad to convey that it was not a guaranteed effect of the water softener but that many people reported a benefit.
4. Harvey's said the savings offered by water softeners were impressive; many appliances expired before their time because of hard water damage and scale build up and that was avoidable with the installation of a water softener. It said the figures quoted were not intended to be understood as specific to any particular customer, and all customers’ savings would vary.
5. Harvey's said heating elements in the type of appliances listed worked less efficiently with any quantity of scale covering them. Therefore the removal of the scale, by using a water softener, would allow them to work at the maximum efficiency possible from the type of product and manufacturer's design.
Assessment
Monitoring staff were concerned that, despite having previously brought our concerns about similar claims in an earlier Harvey's Water Softener ad to OHTV's attention, misleading claims continued to appear.
1. Upheld
The ASA noted Harvey's had not provided evidence to demonstrate that the product immediately eliminated limescale forever, as claimed in the ad. While we understood that water softeners could reduce existing limescale and inhibit the formation of new limescale, we considered that, in the absence of evidence, the claim “from the day we plumb it in we’re going to eliminate limescale from your property forever” was too absolute and could mislead.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.12 (Exaggeration).
2. Upheld
We considered that viewers were likely to infer from the ad that the build up of limescale in the home would lead to an increase in their bills of around 55% and that the installation of a Harvey Water Softener would reduce those bills by the same amount. We noted, however, that Harvey’s had not demonstrated through evidence that consumers were likely to experience an increase in their bills due to scale build-up alone. We noted bills could rise due to other factors such as an increase in energy consumption or a change in energy prices. We considered that the implication that a Harvey Water Softener could reduce heating bills by about 55% had not been substantiated and was likely to mislead.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.12 (Exaggeration).
3. Upheld
We considered that the ad implied that a Harvey Water Softener would benefit those who suffered from skin complaints such as psoriasis and eczema by alleviating their symptoms and noted Harvey's believed anecdotal evidence existed which supported that. We nevertheless considered that psoriasis was a serious medical condition and noted the Code stipulated that ads should not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. We considered that the ad should therefore not have referred to psoriasis at all. Further, Harvey's did not submit any evidence to support that soft water could alleviate the symptoms of eczema. We concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation), 11.2 and 11.3 (Medicines, medical devices, treatments and health).
4. Upheld
We noted the ad claimed “the biggest and best savings come in extending the life of appliances like the kettle, emersion heater, dishwasher, washing machine, showerheads, copper cylinder, plumbing and taps, central heating system, boiler and bathroom suite”. We noted that Dave Gordon said “[B]ecause they pack up in a couple of years if you don’t look after them.” We understood that the Market Transformation Programme estimated that the average lifespan of a washing machine in the UK was 12.09 years. We considered that claiming household appliances would pack up within a couple of years if a water softener was not used exaggerated the risk hard water caused to household appliances. In the absence of evidence to substantiate it, we concluded that the claim was misleading.
We noted the ad referred to a number of savings claims in relation to household appliances, including on-screen text referring to the replacement cost of a bathroom suite “Save on replacement cost of applainces [sic] Replacement Cost £2915.00 Total Outlay £10,000”. We considered that viewers were likely to infer that, by installing a Harvey Water Softener, they would save £30,000 on the cost of replacing appliances prematurely damaged by limescale. We noted that Harvey’s had not supplied evidence to support either the “Replacement Cost” or “Total Outlay” figures, or indeed evidence to support any of the savings claims. In the absence of evidence to show that the quoted figures were typical, we concluded that the ad misleadingly exaggerated the potential savings that consumers could make by installing a Harvey Water Softener.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.12 (Exaggeration).
5. Upheld
We considered that viewers would infer from the ad that, by installing a Harvey Water Softener, household appliances would perform at 100% efficiency. We noted Harvey’s had not submitted evidence to demonstrate that and considered that other factors, such as the age of the appliance, could also impact on its efficiency. We concluded that the claim was too categorical and could mislead.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.12 (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We reminded OHTV of the requirement to hold robust substantiation for any efficacy and savings claims made in future ads. We told OHTV to ensure that future ads for the Harvey Water Softener did not refer at all to psoriasis, or other serious medical conditions, or to eczema, unless it held robust substantiation to support that. We also considered that the ad could potentially raise issues under the Ofcom Code on the scheduling of television advertising. We therefore referred the ad to Ofcom.
