ASAfinds fault with Lasik ad

BootsÕ latest financial figures will be reported on optometryonline.net from today (June 1) and in next weekÕs optician. A complaint by laser eye surgery company Ultralase against Boots OpticiansÕ advertising for its new Lasik service has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.
However, the ASA did not uphold a second complaint from the same source over BootsÕ campaign.
Ultralase objected to the regional press advertisement headed ÔThrow away your lenses. For goodÕ. The company challenged the claim that Boots had recruited the Ôleading ophthalmic surgeonsÕ in the UK, and objected to the claim that the advertisersÕ laser equipment was the product of a £20m development programme. Ultralase said that this implied that the Boots itself had invested £20m in developing the equipment.
The ASA commented: ÔThe authority acknowledged that two of the surgeons were consultants but considered that the advertisers had not sent comparative evidence or shown that no other surgeons were as good as, or better than, those employed by Boots.Õ
Boots was requested to consult the ASAÕs Committee of Advertising Practice Copy Advice team before making a similar claim.
As to the second complaint the ASA judged that readers would interpret the claim as meaning Boots used advanced laser technology, not that the company had spent £20m on its development.
u BootsÕ latest financial figures will be reported on optometryonline.net from today (June 1) and in next weekÕs optician.