Worrall Thompson juicer ad was misleading

Pulse Home Products has had its knuckles rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for running a misleading ad for its Antony Worrall Thompson by Breville juicer.

The catalogue ad showed the juicer and the celebrity chef with the text “I’ve tested the rest and this is the best”. A box below stated “Number 1 juicer voted by the leading Independent Test Magazine”. A separate box stated “Antony’s Professional juicer 76% juice. Produced from fruit. Second best brand only 70% juice. Produced from fruit”.

Phillips Electronics complained to the ASA about the ad because the magazine’s test had shown very little difference between the two juicers, and Phillips believed the comparative figures actually came from Pulse’s own test. Pulse had also tested only apples.

Pulse admitted that the figures derived from its own test but argued that the image of Worrall Thompson with the words “I’ve tested the rest and this is the best” made it clear that Pulse had done the testing. The comparative claim was justifiable because the company had tested four comparable juicers. Pulse also said the fact that it had done the testing was made clear on its website, as was the fact that only apples had been used.

However, the ASA decided that the ad was ambiguous both in terms of who had done the testing and the figures.

It agreed that the Worrall Thompson product had been voted top juicer by Independent Test Magazine. Nevertheless, it pointed out that while the juicer had proved better than the Phillips product at juicing vegetables, the products were equal when it came to making fruit juice.

The ASA also said that the ad, in which a wide range of fruits was pictured, implied that the products had been tested on a variety of fruits.

The ASA concluded that the ad was misleading. It told Pulse not to repeat it in its current form and to make sure that test figures used in future ads were clearly attributed.

Pic courtesy Wikipedia