Ad description
A page on the Next Base website www.nextbase.co.uk, for three dash cam models, seen on 31 January 2024, stated under the headline “Enhanced Night Vision” that the models were “capable of picking up the finer details such as number plates and road signs even in extreme low-light conditions”. Further text stated that the 422GW and 522GW models were able to “capture and process superior image quality” and provide “a clear view of your surroundings, even at night”. An image showed a dash cam view of a busy motorway at night, with clear and readable number plates on two of the cars ahead. Underneath, a heading “Dash Cams with Enhanced Night Vision” was followed by images of the 522GW, 422GW and 322GW models.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad misleadingly exaggerated the ability of the products to capture detail in low light conditions.
Response
Portable Multimedia Ltd t/a Next Base said that there were times when variables such as speed, rain, light and window cleanliness could make a number plate less visible, and they did not claim to always capture these details. However, their cameras could capture finer details such as number plates and road signs in such conditions. They said they had inserted number plates with fake numbers into the ad’s image so that the vehicles could not be identified.
They said that compared to other available alternatives on the market and their own lower-end models, they felt confident about the claim that the 422GW and 522GW models could “capture and process superior image quality” even in extreme low light conditions. In the context of the website as a whole, it was clear that the claim that those models offered a clear view even at night was in comparison to their own lower-end models. To illustrate the image quality, they provided a selection of footage from their 622GW model and a short clip of footage from their 522GW model.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so and must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product.
Under the headline “Enhanced Night Vision”, the ad showed a crisp and high resolution image of several cars travelling on a wet motorway at night time, with two cars displaying clear and readable number plates. The ASA considered that consumers would understand the image to be a screengrab taken directly from real footage sourced from one of the three Next Base models referenced in the ad. It showed vehicles travelling along a motorway, and we therefore considered consumers would expect that the details shown could be captured by the dash cams even at speeds of around 70 miles per hour. Because the ad did not identify which model the image had been taken with, consumers would interpret the image as being representative of the enhanced night vision capability they could expect from all three advertised dash cam models. We further considered the accompanying claims that the 422GW and 522GW models were able to “capture and process superior image quality” and provide “a clear view of your surroundings, even at night” would be understood as reinforcing the impression created by the image.
However, the image in the ad was not taken from Next Base dash cam footage. Rather, it was a stock photo in which the number plates were already blurred out, and to which Next Base had added readable number plates to the two closest cars. We considered the use of that image was therefore misleading, because it was not taken from footage from any of the advertised dash cams.
Notwithstanding that, we reviewed the footage provided by Next Base to determine whether the quality of detail in the ad was representative of footage captured by the advertised dash cams.
Next Base provided footage for the 622GW – a newer model that did not feature in the ad and so was not relevant to our investigation – and one 30-second clip for the 522GW model. That clip showed footage of driving in similar conditions shown in the ad’s image. Some finer details ‒ for example, the wording on some of the signs ‒ were visible when the vehicle was travelling at slow speeds. However, when the vehicle was travelling at speeds around 30 miles per hour finer details, particularly the number plates, were not as clear as shown in the ad’s image, including when the video was paused. We considered that one clip was not sufficient evidence to substantiate that any of the three advertised models were capable of capturing the level of detailed night vision presented in the ad. We concluded the ad exaggerated the capability of the advertised products and was therefore misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the forms complained of. We told Portable Multimedia Ltd t/a Next Base to ensure that images in their ads did not misleadingly represent or exaggerate the performance of their products.
