Watchdog upholds complaints over McDonalds, vitamins and windscreens

THE Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints about 11 adverts promoting products and services ranging from vitamins to windscreen chip repairs.

In total the authority received complaints regarding 20 advertisements, including 18 from consumers.

Among the upheld complaints, fast-food chain McDonalds fell foul of the authority for one of its bus shelter advertisements in Dublin.

The poster on the Belgard Road in Tallaght read: “2 Medium Meals for €10” and it contained the footnote: “Available after 10.30am at Belgard Road and The Square Tallaght restaurants only... offer ends 31/11/09.”

However, when a member of the public went to the chain’s restaurant in Tallaght and ordered two Big Mac meals for €10 he was told the offer only applied to the Drive Thru in Tallaght beside the Square.

The company put the error down to a technical problem which had been rectified.

The benefits of antioxidants in Nature’s Way’s Vitamins and Minerals was also the subject of an upheld complaint.

A website advertising the product contained the statement: “Combat the destructive forces of free radical damage with our natural antioxidant formulas. They just may be the best friends your immune system will ever know.”

However, a complainant to the authority challenged the claims regarding antioxidants. He said consumers were being misled over the benefits of the products and asked that the advertisers substantiate their claims.

They said the complainant may have misunderstood the claim “immune system’s best friend” as inferring something other than intended.

They offered to amend the current statement on their website so as to avoid any further misunderstanding.

Autoglass featured an advertisement telling customers: “With windscreen cover on your car insurance your insurer will handle all the costs and it won’t affect your no-claims bonus.”

A complainant was informed that her insurance provider was not involved in the service advertised. The insurer was one of the larger insurance providers in the country.

Autoglass said they were in the process of making amendments to the advertisement for the Irish market.