Ad description
A direct mailing, on 20 May 2011, advertised laser eye surgery. Text stated "... we're the UK's number one Laser Eye Surgery specialists ... We'll talk you through all the treatment options available to you - and give you the peace of mind to know you're receiving the best corrective vision treatment in the country".
Issue
Optical Express Ltd challenged whether the claims "we're the UK's number one Laser Eye Surgery specialists" and “the best corrective vision treatment in the country" were misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Optimax LaserEye Clinics (Optimax) said the ad was an oversight because they had been ensuring they were careful to avoid comparative and superlative claims in their advertising.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted Optimax’s statement that the claims were an oversight. However, because we had not received evidence to support the claims that “we’re the UK’s number one Laser Eye Surgery specialists” and “the best corrective vision treatment in the country”, we considered the claims had not been substantiated and concluded 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 in its current form again. We told Optimax not to use comparative or superlative claims in their advertising unless they were able to substantiate them.
