Commonsense and research as custodians of brand values
It’s been an uneasy time for those of us who feel tarred by the brush of the Murdoch and News of the World debacle. When journalists or editors don’t appear to be honest it seems to affect trust in the communications industry overall.
Some recent results from the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) show just how expensive a mistake can be on this front too, with whole ad campaigns having to be pulled. But to me it begs the question – where was the common sense and research? Or where was the question itself – is this really honest and true?
The tagline on one poster for Coca-Cola and its functional water brand Glacéau Vitaminwater sounded innocuous enough – “More muscles than Brussels” which the company claimed was a reference to Belgian action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. But the ASA ruled that the product could not claim to help enhance muscle strength. It also disliked the ambiguity of comparing the health benefits of water with Brussels sprouts. The ASA received just three complaints about the product.
William Hill had to pull a campaign recently after the ASA received just one complaint, on the basis of which an investigation was undertaken and the body ruled against the bookmaker.
In the case of Danone, the ASA was not convinced that the scientific research on which the Actimel health claims were made provided sufficient absolute proof that it would improve a child’s immune system.
A very recent ruling was the Stansted Express ad campaign. The train operator running between London’s Liverpool Street and Stansted Express had long run a promotional campaign purporting that the average journey time from the airport to central London was just 35 minutes. It was, at best, misleading. That journey time took the passenger from Stansted to Tottenham Hale which, in zone 3, is still some distance from central London. The journey time is in fact between 45-50 minutes.
As a junior executive at The Guardian one of my jobs was to gather evidence, including research, to defend or challenge advertising claims, reporting to the ASA. Often a complaint had been lodged by just one or two people.
As the general public develops a heightened sense of mistrust, even outrage, we can probably expect more people to complain about what they see as an untrue editorial or advertising claim; even one complaint can trigger a formal process.
So whatever our role in the communications industry, we should all apply our best common sense and research to make sure we uphold our role as guardians of brand honesty.
Source: FMCG News 17.08.11
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