Not upheld

The ASA understood that the claim "the highest performing multifoil insulation blanket on the market" was based on the thermal resistance of the product compared to its competitors.  Although the claim was not qualified in the ad, we considered that readers were likely to interpret it in this way.  We noted YBS had compared their product against only those competitor products that held EN standards certification and considered that, in the context of the claim to be the "highest performing multifoil insulation" it would be understood that the comparison was made with only those products that held independent results which could be verified.  

We understood that the comparison had been made using the thermal resistance quoted in the SuperQuilt BDA Certification and competitors' British Board of Agrément (BBA) certificates for their products.  We noted SuperQuilt had been tested using a different British Standard to the one used for the competitor products, but understood that BR443 stated that any of three BS standards could be used to determine the thermal resistance of multifoils and that included the standard used by BDA, an EU accredited testing house, to test SuperQuilt.  

We noted that BDA had used a heat flow meter, whereas hotbox testing had been used for the competitors' products, and understood that BR 443 required BS EN 6946 to be used to calculate thermal resistance, but the two documents appeared to offer conflicting guidance over values for an unvented airspace.  However, although not agreed at the time the ad appeared, we understood that the LABC, the member organisation representing local authority building control departments, had accepted that the methods used to test SuperQuilt had followed BS EN 6946 as well as the intentions of BRE 443 and when installed, in accordance with the limitations described within the test data, would perform the function for which it was intended.       

Although we noted the products had been tested using different methods, we considered that, because SuperQuilt had been tested using one of the three BS Standards recommended by BRE guidance and followed the intentions of the guidance, the comparison was fair.  We noted the SuperQuilt certificate showed that the total thermal resistance for the product was higher than that shown on the certificates for competitor products that held EN standards certification and therefore concluded that the claim "the highest performing multifoil insulation blanket on the market" had been substantiated and was unlikely to mislead.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.38 (Other comparisons), but did not find it in breach.