Ad description
An ad on an online auction site, for AC Delco brake pads, stated, "Mercedes C-Class W203 Saloon 131.1mm Wide ACDelco Front Brake Pads Genuine".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because he believed the AC Delco brake pads were not genuine.
Response
All Car Parts Ltd did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by All Car Parts Ltd's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We noted that consumers would interpret the claim "Brake Pads Genuine" to mean that the advertised car parts had been authorised by Mercedes. Because All Car Parts Ltd did not provide documentary evidence to demonstrate that the brake pads were genuine, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
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) and 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).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
