Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on ads for mini-coolers. The ad was identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules. See also related rulings published on 26 November 2025.
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were upheld.
Ad description
Two paid-for online display ads and a paid-for YouTube ad for Airabreeze, seen in June 2025:a. The first ad featured an image of a portable cooler and text which stated, “This Genius AC Cooler Cools Down Any Room in Seconds”.
b. The second ad featured an image of a portable cooler and text which stated, “Genius Portable Cooler Keeps Your Home Cool & Saves You Money”.
c. The YouTube ad featured footage of a portable cooler being designed, assembled and used. The video’s voiceover stated, “Discover a simple yet brilliant hack to cool your home in just 90 seconds […] this genius trick cools any room in 90 seconds for nearly zero cost […] a device that cools rooms instantly at a fraction of the cost […] it used 90% less energy than traditional air conditioning systems […] it cools rooms rapidly, using just a tiny amount of electricity […] Airabreeze power blows away anything a regular air conditioning system can do […] Airabreeze can chill an entire room in minutes [...] for almost zero cost. It’s 98.7% cheaper than traditional air conditioners […] whether you’ve already got air conditioning or not, Airabreeze is a much cheaper and equally effective alternative. It works perfectly in spaces up to 398 square feet.”
Issue
The ASA challenged whether claims in ads:
- (a), (b) and (c) regarding the product’s cooling abilities and cost effectiveness were misleading;
- (c) regarding the product’s performance and cost effectiveness compared to air conditioning were misleading; and
- (c) that the product “works perfectly in spaces up to 398 square feet” was misleading.
Response
UAB Rara Digital, t/a Airabreeze, said that the ad and its wider campaign had been terminated, and all related marketing materials withdrawn from circulation.
Assessment
1. Upheld
Ad (a) stated that the product “Cools Down Any Room in Seconds”. Ad (b) stated that it “Keeps Your Home Cool & Saves You Money”. Ad (c) claimed that the product “cools any room in 90 seconds for nearly zero cost”, “cools rooms instantly at a fraction of the cost”, “cools rooms rapidly, using just a tiny amount of electricity” and “can chill an entire room in minutes [...] for almost zero cost”. The ASA considered that consumers would interpret those claims to mean that Airabreeze’s mini cooler could rapidly cool any typical room in a house in an economical and cost-effective manner.
However, Airabreeze provided no evidence that the product was effective at cooling rooms in “seconds”; that it could keep homes cool”, cools rooms down “instantly” or “rapidly”; or that it could “chill an entire room in minutes”. They also provided no evidence to support the claims that the product saved consumers money, and could be run at nearly or almost “zero cost”.
We understood that it was highly unlikely that a small portable electric fan cooler would be a viable source of efficient cooling for most rooms. We had also seen no evidence to support the cost savings claims. We therefore concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and were misleading.
On that point, ads (a), (b) and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code required that comparisons with identifiable competitors must not mislead, or be likely to mislead, consumers about the advertised product. Ad (c) included claims that Airabreeze’s cooler “used 90% less energy than traditional air conditioning systems”, “blows away anything a regular air conditioning system can do”, “[is] 98.7% cheaper than traditional air conditioners” and was a “much cheaper and equally effective alternative” to traditional air conditioning. We therefore considered that consumers would interpret the ads as promoting a product that provided a viable, cheaper alternative to other cooling systems, including air conditioning units.
We expected to see robust documentary evidence that substantiated those claims, and explained the basis for the comparisons and how they related to both Airabreeze’s product and all relevant competitors. However, Airabreeze provided no evidence that their product could supply the equivalent cooling capabilities of any other cooling systems, such as traditional air conditioning systems, at a cheaper price.
As above, we considered it was highly unlikely that a small portable electric fan cooler would be as effective as traditional air conditioning systems in cooling a property, or that it would be a cost-effective alternative to such systems. We therefore concluded that the comparison claims in ad (c) had not been substantiated, and were misleading.
On that point, ad (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.11 (Exaggeration) and 3.32 (Comparisons with identifiable competitors).
3. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that, before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers were likely to regard as objective and that were capable of objective substantiation.
Airabreeze provided no evidence to support the claim seen in ad (c) that the product “works perfectly in spaces up to 398 square feet”. We therefore concluded that the claim had not been substantiated and was likely to mislead.
On that point, ad (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told UAB Rara Digital t/a Airabreeze not to mislead by exaggerating their product’s cooling abilities and cost effectiveness, and not to state or imply that their mini cooler product provided a viable and economical alternative to air conditioning. Specifically, we told Airabreeze not to repeat claims that their product “Cools Down Any Room in Seconds”, “Keeps Your Home Cool & Saves You Money”, “cools any room in 90 seconds for nearly zero cost”, “cools rooms instantly at a fraction of the cost”, “cools rooms rapidly, using just a tiny amount of electricity” and “can chill an entire room in minutes [...] for almost zero cost”, or make similar unsubstantiated claims. We also told them not to repeat the claim that it could cool down spaces up to 398 square feet.
