These reports are case summaries of complaints which appeared to raise issues of substance in relation to the interpretation of the ITC Advertising Standards Code. Summary statistics of non-substantive complaints can be found in the full reports which are obtainable from the ITC.
Churchill Scooters
Complaint from: 1 viewer
Background
An advertisement for Churchill's Scooters, a company specialising in mobility aids, showed a woman riding a scooter and then folding it away and lifting it into her car boot.
Issue
A viewer complained that the scooter was too heavy to lift and therefore felt that the advertisement was misleading.
Assessment
The advertiser said the scooter shown had been on the market for 3 years and many customers with mobility problems were fully able to load the scooter into their cars. When Churchill sales consultants demonstrate the product they check whether the customer is able to lift the scooter into their car and if not they ask them whether a family member or friend would be able to help.
As there are different levels of mobility the advertiser admitted that to say it could be easily folded away and placed in the boot of a car was a "generalisation". It therefore suggested the advertisement could be amended to say "can be folded easily away into the boot of a car by many people".
The ITC learned that the scooter weighed approximately 3 stones. It believed that many people with mobility problems would find it virtually impossible to lift this weight from ground level. It judged that the commercial was misleading and required that it should be amended to clearly reflect the fact that not all people would be able to fold and lift the scooter as demonstrated in the advertisement.
Conclusion
Complaint upheld. Breach of ITC Code Rule 5.2.3.
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