Advertisment
The home page of Cambridge Motor Company website displayed The Society of the Irish Motor Industry’s (SIMI) logo in the corner of the screen stating that they were members of the organisation.
Complaint
A complaint was received on behalf of The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) regarding the advertising. They considered it to be misleading on the grounds that Cambridge Motor Company were not members of the SIMI. They advised that while the advertisers were members in the past, they had resigned their membership in 2022.
They stated that as the advertisers were claiming to be members of the SIMI, if a customer had an issue regarding a purchase or a service of a vehicle, then they would be led to believe that they could contact the SIMI to seek redress. As the advertisers were no longer members, they considered the inclusion of the SIMI logo to be misleading to consumers.
Response
The advertisers failed to provide a response to the complaint.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaint. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to ensure that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.
The Committee noted the Code requirements that a marketing communication should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise (4.01) and that marketing communications should not exploit or make unfair use of the goodwill attached to the name, trademark, trade name, other distinguishing mark, brand, slogan or marketing communications campaign of any other entity or person (4.35).
The Committee considered that the inclusion of the SIMI logo alongside the text stating they were members was likely to mislead consumers. In the absence of a response from the advertisers and evidence to demonstrate any current membership with the SIMI, the Committee considered that the advertisement breached the Code at sections 4.01, 4.04, 4.09, 4.10 and 4.35.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement should not reappear in its current form.
