ASA Adjudication on Mount Automotive Solutions

Ad

A regional press ad for a local car dealership displayed the Volvo logo and stated "Volvo Value ... ANY MODEL OF NEW/ USED VOLVO SUPPLIED ... Mount Automotive Solutions. The Volvo Centre ..." It listed a number of particular Volvos for sale including "09 Reg Volvo C30 R-Design Sport in Titanium Grey Metallic 100 Miles Only".

Issue

Clive Brook Ltd, a Volvo dealer, challenged:

1. whether the ad was misleading because it implied the advertisers were official Volvo dealers when they did not believe this was the case;

2. the availability of the 09 C30 Reg in Titanium Grey.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Mount Automotive Solutions (Mount Automotive) said their expertise and association with Volvo products dated back to 1965 but they agreed that, because they were not an official Volvo dealer, the Volvo trademark should not have been used. They said the fact that it had been was a mistake on the part of their advertising agent, and also said a letter of explanation had been sent to the company secretary of Volvo UK Ltd. They sent a copy of the letter to Volvo together with a letter from their agency apologising for the error.

2. Mount Automotive said the C30 R design in titanium grey had been available for sale by them at the time the ad was placed in April. They sent a purchase invoice to show it had been bought by them in March. They said it had originally been ordered for a customer but that customer had cancelled the order in late March so they had subsequently advertised it for sale. They sent a letter from the original intended buyer and a sales invoice to the final buyer, dated 10 June, to confirm that.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA acknowledged the letter sent by the advertiser's agency admitting responsibility for the use of the Volvo logo. We concluded that because Mount Automotive was not an official Volvo dealership the use of the logo in the ad could mislead readers into believing that they were.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 14.7 (Testimonials and endorsements).

2. Not upheld

We understood from the paperwork provided by Mount Automotive that they had an 09 C30 Reg titanium grey Volvo for sale at the time the ad appeared, which was sold to a customer in June.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness) and 16.4 (Availability of products) but did not find it in breach.

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)