Manufacturer Dyson Ltd. have had a complaint against them upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The complaint centred on a television advert which featured a woman vacuuming with the product, followed by a shot of the extension tube being compacted. In the next shot, the vacuum was seen, without the extension tube or hose, being placed on a shelf in a cupboard. The voice-over stated, “So there you have it, the smallest, quietest Dyson Ball vacuum”.
The complaintant challenged that the ad was misleading in the implication that the extension tube and hose could be folded away inside the product, which was not the case. While the advert also featured a shot of the component parts, which Dyson claimed would demonstrate that there was not space inside the unit for the tube and hose, the positioning of a shot of the wand collapsing into itself alongside the final scene suggested that the unit was entirely collapsible and self containable.
The ASA found the advert to be guilty of misleading advertising and exaggeration, and it cannot be shown again in its current form.
