Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
The ASA has taken a robust line that product names and company names should not be used to make a claim that would be otherwise unacceptable. If it breaks the CAP Code, a claim is unlikely to be acceptable in a marcom, whether it appears in the copy, the website title, the product name or the company name.
Company names can be misleading if they confer a status that is not accurate. For example, in 1998, the ASA upheld complaint about Columbia State University because the company name implied the advertisers were offering courses from an accredited university. Other examples of misleading company names include usage of "association", "advisory service" and the like because they can imply membership of an independent, professional organisation or trade body (i4c (Pyschic Reading) Ltd, 16 February 2005, and David & Co Financial Advisers, 1 September 2004). Company names that include words such as "independent" or "impartial" can mislead if advertisers are tied or partial or provide biased advice (C-MAC Ltd, 9 May 2001).
Marketers should be aware of restrictions placed on the use of sensitive words and expressions such as “British” and “Charter” in company names. Information can be obtained from the Companies House website, www.companieshouse.gov.uk.
If a company name incorporates an unproven or otherwise unacceptable claim, the marketer should adopt a different trading name. If the name is registered, the company name should be prominently disclaimed in a way that prevents consumers from being misled. Similarly, we have seen marketers try to circumvent the rules by putting a claim in a website name. Some names will be a judgement call or on the boundaries of puffery, for example www.loseweightfast.com or www.makemebeautiful.co.uk. But marketers should be wary of including in their website name unsubstantiated claims or claims that are specifically prohibited by the Code.
See ‘Claims in Names’.
Last modified : 05 August 2010