Dyson complains to ASA over ads by rivals

Dyson, the vacuum cleaner company which has been sued over its advertising campaigns, has itself complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about two of its rivals.

Dyson was sued by an alliance of European consumer electronics companies made up of Bosch, Electrolux, Miele, Nielfisk, Philips and Siemens, for claiming that bags in conventional cleaners clog up and lose suction. The consortium has taken legal action in Belgium, which James Dyson says he intends to fight.

In this month’s ASA report, Dyson Appliances challenges claims about Electrolux vacuum cleaners in two national press ads and brochures which are not upheld, and also complains about a press ad for the Oreck XL, made by the Oreck Corporation. Three out of four complaints were upheld, including one claim that: “The Oreck is in a class of its own with unbeatable power.”

Elsewhere, the ASA criticises ads for the Audi S4 Quattro and the Jaguar XK8, through agencies Bartle Bogle Hegarty and J Walter Thompson respectively, for putting an undue emphasis on speed.

Accurist Watches received the highest number of complaints – 83 – for a national press and poster ad featuring a thin woman wearing a watch and the strapline “put some weight on”. The ASA upheld the complaints about the ad, created by TBWA Simons Palmer, as it could be seen as mocking people with eating disorders.