ASA Adjudication on Dustbusters

Ad

A circular for a mattress dry cleaning company was headed "You never sleep alone". The ad stated "Did you know? Your mattress could be doubled in weight over a 10 year period due to the dust mites and their droppings inside it!"

Issue

The recipient challenged whether the claim "Your mattress could be doubled in weight over a 10 year period due to the dust mites and their droppings inside it!" was misleading and could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Dustbusters said the claim was substantiated by reliable sources including a Wall Street Journal article and an unspecified document relating to the work of the Director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at New York University, but did not supply a copy of these documents. They also said the information had been sourced from other mattress cleaning companies' websites.   They argued that the ad did not state that mattresses would definitely double in weight, only that they could, but said they would remove the claim from their ad to avoid further problems.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted Dustbusters had looked at a number of sources about the effect of dust mites on mattresses but was concerned that they had not supplied us with any documentary evidence for their claim. We considered that Dustbusters had not substantiated the claim that mattresses could double in weight in ten years and concluded that it was misleading. We welcomed Dustbusters willingness to remove the claim.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad should not appear again in its current form.  We told Dustbusters to ensure they held robust substantiation before making similar claims in the future.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)