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New Decisions: Vehicle Comparisons, Homeopathy and More

Appeal Board rules “best value” claim must be substantiated 

A complaint was made about a television advertisement for the Ssangyong Korando SUV. The Complainant said claims that the vehicle was “New Zealand’s best value mid-size SUV” were misleading.  The Complaints Board ruled on 12 July 2016 that the complaint was Not Upheld. The Complainant appealed the Decision and it was placed before the Appeal Board for the matter to be reheard.

The Appeal Board considered all the matters afresh and said the advertiser had not substantiated the claim that the Ssangyong Korando SUV was “New Zealand’s best value mid-size SUV”.  The Appeal Board said:

“Best value” is an absolute term. The Appeal Board agreed consumers need to have confidence the Advertiser has a reasonable basis for making a claim of “best value”.  Any claims made by advertisers therefore, should be supported by sound, relevant, clear and robust evidence. A “best value” claim would generally imply a comparison with other similar products available on the market. In this case this would mean a comparison with all the other mid-size SUVs available on the New Zealand market.

In the absence of appropriate evidence supporting the claim the Appeal Board ruled the advertisement was likely to mislead the consumer and had not been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility.

Accordingly, the Appeal Board ruled the complaint was Upheld and the appeal was Allowed.  Read more…

Homeopathy Claims Permitted

The Weleda website advertisement promoted a Weleda homeopathic remedy, “Cold & Flu Drops,” with the recommendation that they be taken to relieve cold or flu symptoms.

The Complainant believed the therapeutic claims in the advertisement had not been substantiated. Their view was that it was socially irresponsible to make false claims about treating the symptoms of what were common viral infections. The Complainant was concerned the advertisement was likely to mislead unwary members of the public who did not realise that there was no good evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy.

The Advertiser confirmed that Weleda Cold & Flu Drops is a registered medicine with Medsafe and is permitted to carry the therapeutic claims. As the wording in the advertisement was consistent with the Medsafe registration, the Complaints Board held the advertisement was not in breach of the Therapeutic Products Advertising Code.

The Complaints Board ruled the complaint was Not Upheld.  Read more…

The following decisions were released on 22 September 2016: