Ad description
A display ad for ReimagePlus, an online PC repair service, seen on 21 April 2017, which stated “Don’t be part of the statistics. 1 out of 3 computers is infected by malware every single day”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claim “1 out of 3 computers is infected by malware every single day” was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Reimage Ltd did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Reimage Ltd’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future
We considered that consumers would understand from the claim that one in three computers were infected by malware on a daily basis. We considered the claim therefore implied that malware was widespread and this would entice consumers to use Reimage’s PC repair products as a result. In the absence of adequate evidence to substantiate the claim, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Reimage Ltd to ensure that they held adequate evidence to substantiate their claims and that such claims did not mislead. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
