Ad description
A website, www.drivall.com, featured a logo that stated "SPEEDLINER MAXIMUM STRENGTH SPRAY LINERS". Further text stated "SPEEDLINER is the world's toughest spray-on bed liner and thats [sic] why Drivall has choosen [sic] to supply it. Independent tests have show [sic] SPEEDLINER to be 80 percent stronger than its competitors. With a SPEEDLINER bed liner, your truck can withstand nearly twice the abuse of the other bed liners".
Issue
Willow Automotive Ltd challenged whether the claim "the world's toughest spray on bed liner" was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Drivall Ltd said the company had ceased trading on 30 September 2013. They did not provide any evidence to support the claim "the world's toughest spray on bed liner".
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the advertiser's comments that they had ceased trading. However, we did not receive any official documentation to substantiate that. We also noted the claim "the world's toughest spray on bed liner" was still appearing on the website and that the website invited consumers to call for a quotation.
Because we had seen no evidence to support the claim that the advertised product was "the world's toughest spray on bed liner", we considered the claim had not been substantiated and therefore breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation) and 3.33 3.33 Marketing communications that include a comparison with an identifiable competitor must not mislead, or be likely to mislead, the consumer about either the advertised product or the competing product. (Comparisons).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Drivall Ltd to ensure future claims were capable of robust substantiation.
