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.
Comparative claims are those in which a marketer compares his product or service with that of his competitors. The comparison can be direct or implied and either objective or subjective. For example, claims such as “You’ve tried the rest, now try the best” are likely to be seen by the ASA and CAP as an implicit, subjective claim (K2 Indian Restaurant, 4 May 2005). Conversely, claims such as “We sell more properties than Estate Agent X” are likely to be seen as an explicit, objective claim for which the marketer would have to hold evidence (Emap Automotive Ltd, 23 July 2003, and Kinsbourne Cars, 7 May 2003). In the latter example, the type of evidence needed was fairly straight-forward but many marketers fall foul of the Code because they make a comparative claim without holding comparative evidence (Progressive Financial Services Ltd, 9 February 2005). If they make claims with unnamed competitors, for example “We sell more properties than anyone else”, marketers should be aware that they need to hold comparative evidence that covers, at least, all major competitors and, ideally, all of them. If they are going to limit their evidence to only some competitors, marketers should either name or describe them or be able to convince the ASA and CAP that evidence based on a limited number of competitors justifies a more general claim (American International Group, 6 April 2005).
Marketers should be careful if the basis of a comparative claim is unclear. In June 2005, the ASA considered a complaint against easyJet’s claim to be “the largest … low-cost airline in Europe” (easyJet Airline Co Ltd, 29 June 2005). On one hand, easyJet had more aircraft, more employees and more flights but the complainants, Ryanair, operated more routes and served more airports. Because the basis of the claim was unclear and could be judged on several relevant criteria, the ASA asked the advertiser to qualify the claim.
Last modified : 27 July 2010