ASA Adjudication on Ascentive LLC

Ad

A TV ad for software showed a man using an Apple Mac desktop computer. He said "My new computer started out fast, really fast. But now it's only kinda fast". The ad next showed an exasperated woman using an Apple Mac laptop. She said "Hold on let me check my e-mail. It's not loading. Let me try this again," before the machine crashed. The scene switched again to another woman using a PC, and to various close-ups of computer screens. The voice-over stated "If your PC doesn't run like it's supposed to and your PC is unreliable there may be nothing wrong. Even if your brand new computer isn't as fast as it ought to be you might not have any real problem at all. A finallyfast.co.uk free performance test will immediately diagnose any hidden problems and show you how to get more speed on just about any computer." On-screen text appeared which stated "Simulated results, Finallyfast.co.uk is for PC computers only." The voice-over continued "Plus Finallyfast.co.uk provides you with the software you need to get your computer up to peak performance by getting rid of all the nasty junk files, spyware, adware and registry errors that make even the best computers freeze and crash ..."

Issue

1. Ten viewers complained that the ad misleadingly implied the products could be used on Mac machines when this was not the case.

2. Two viewers challenged the efficacy of the product on the speed of a new machine.

BCAP TV Code

Response

1. Ascentive LLC (Ascentive) said they were sorry to hear about the concern their TV ad had caused to some viewers. They said the ad contained several disclaimers explaining that the Finallyfast.co.uk software was for PC computers only. They said, moreover, that they advertised Mac software on their website for any consumers that sought it.

b2c agency (b2c) also responded on behalf of Ascentive. They said that those people who noticed the Apple Mac computers featured in the ad would hopefully also have noticed the on-screen text stating "Simulated results, Finallyfast.co.uk is for PC computers only." However, they said a new version of the TV ad, which featured PCs only, was currently being tested in the United States.

b2c said  the 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Vista could be run on Apple Mac machines because they had a Dual Boot Facility. They said Mac users could select Windows when the machine was starting, then all of the Finallyfast.co.uk software would work in the same way as on any other regular Windows based PC. They said the speed increases provided by the FinallyFast software would only be effective when running Windows on the Mac in this way, not when running on the Mac Operating System, because the two systems ran on separate partitions of the hard drive. They said, on that basis, it was reasonable to assume that Windows was running on the Macs featured in the ad, and therefore it was not misleading to feature Macs.

Clearcast said they had not recognised that two of the models featured were Apple Mac computers on which the product did not function at the time the ad was cleared for broadcast.

2. b2c said they did not consider the ad was likely to mislead people into believing the product could speed up a new machine. They pointed out that the ad stated "Even if your brand new computer isn't as fast as it ought to be you might not have any real problem at all. A finallyfast.co.uk free performance test will immediately diagnose any hidden problems and show you how to get more speed on just about any computer". They also pointed out that Ascentive offered a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Ascentive said that FinallyFast software could speed up the performance of a brand new computer because new computers invariably came loaded with anti-virus, anti-spyware and other, often useless, pieces of software that could slow down the computer. They said results would vary for different customers and that it was normal for a small percentage (fewer than 10%) not to get a performance increase and to ask for a refund, which was why they offered a money-back guarantee. They sent test results, from a third-party software development and consultancy company, on four of their FinallyFast software products.

Clearcast said that their consultant had advised that the Windows Registry on old or new PCs could become cluttered with malware every time new software was installed or the Internet was browsed, and that cleaning the Registry, for example using the Finallyfast.co.uk software, would improve performance.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that the voice-over in the ad explicitly mentioned PCs by stating "If your PC doesn't run like it's supposed to and your PC is unreliable ..." and that on-screen text also stated "Simulated results, Finallyfast.co.uk is for PC computers only." However, we noted Apple Mac computers featured in the ad, and considered that, whilst these might not be immediately recognisable to PC users, they were likely be familiar to Mac users themselves, who might therefore expect the product to be suitable for them on the Mac Operating System. We also noted that the text stating "Finallyfast.co.uk is for PC computers only" was not on-screen when the Apple Mac computers were featured. We concluded the ad was likely to mislead on these grounds.

On this point the ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1, 5.1.3 (Misleading advertising).

2. Upheld

We considered that a brand new computer would not be running below optimum due to malware and that only after a period of use, during which time malware was inadvertently downloaded, was PC performance likely to be affected in the manner suggested in the ad.

We noted Ascentive's assertion that FinallyFast software could positively affect the performance of a brand new computer by removing any unwanted software which came with the machine, such as anti-virus and anti-spyware software. However, we considered that most users would want to keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software and would not regard them as "hidden problems", and also that unwanted software installations on a brand new machine could easily be deleted by the consumer during set-up without the need for the advertiser's product.

We noted the ad contained two references to new computers; a man stating "My new computer started out fast, really fast. But now it's only kinda fast", and a voice-over stating "Even if your brand new computer isn't as fast as it ought to be you might not have any real problem at all. A Finallyfast.co.uk free performance test will immediately diagnose any hidden problems and show you how to get more speed on just about any computer." Taken together, we considered the claim was ambiguous, and that viewers could infer Finallyfast.co.uk would speed up the performance of a brand new computer by fixing "hidden problems".

We noted the third-party test results sent by the advertiser, for four FinallyFast software products, each tested on five different PCs. We acknowledged the report stated that some of the products detected "malware" such as cookies, whilst other products eliminated them, freeing up computer memory. We noted reported increased computer memory for some of the products, also reduced system boot time for some machines and increased Internet speeds. However, we noted the length of time for which the computers had been in use was not stated in the report and that it was not possible to ascertain from the tests whether any of them were "brand new" computers.

On this point the ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1, 5.1.3, 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 (Misleading advertising).

Action

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

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)