ASA Adjudication on Kirkwood Fyfe Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for Kirkwood Fyfe Ltd, stated "Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up with clear vision? At Kirkwood Fyfe we can cater for all prescriptions, laser eye surgery including Wavefront technology. We also do facial improvements and laser hair removal, carried out by our consultant surgeons in our Aberdeen clinic. You're assured of the best quality care ...".

Issue

One viewer thought the ad, particularly the claim "we can cater for all prescriptions", misleadingly implied laser eye surgery was suitable for everyone who needed their vision corrected.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Kirkwood Fyfe did not comment on whether the ad implied laser eye surgery was suitable for everyone who needed their vision corrected. However, they defended the claim "we can cater for all prescriptions". As well as laser eye surgery, Kirkwood Fyfe offered contact lenses and spectacle lenses to correct vision. They explained that the range of prescriptions they had treated was from -24.00 to +12.00 spherical, which would be recognised by any qualified ophthalmologist as fully comprehensive; they also said they would be able to treat prescriptions outside that range.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) did not comment on whether the ad implied laser eye surgery was suitable for everyone who needed their vision corrected. They said they cleared the claim "we can cater for all prescriptions" two years ago, having received evidence in support of the claim which satisfied them at that time.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA understood that laser eye surgery was not suitable for everyone who needed their vision corrected, because some pre-existing conditions could complicate or preclude the treatment.

We noted the ad began with the statement "Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up with clear vision?" and showed a woman waking up in bed without needing to put on glasses or wear contact lenses; the ad then showed surgeons at work. We therefore considered that the ad's focus was on Kirkwood Fyfe's laser eye surgery, not on their other services such as contact lenses and spectacle lenses, which were not mentioned in the ad. In that context, we considered that the claim "we can cater for all prescriptions", which was stated at the same time as the surgeons were shown and which appeared immediately before the claim "Laser eye surgery", was likely to be seen as suggesting that laser eye surgery was suitable for all prescriptions and for everyone who needed their vision corrected. Because we understood that was not the case, we considered that the ad was likely to mislead.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications).

Action

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

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)