By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: LG Electronics Australia is taking a cautious and conservative approach to actions regarding the banned Kompressor TV advertisement in the UK, today issuing a statement that the company will reserve judgment until more information is available.
“LG Electronics Australia understands that the UK TVC advertisement of the Kompressor Vacuum has been subject to investigation in the UK,” said LG Electronics Australia’s general manager marketing, Paul Jenkins, in a statement to Current.com.au today.
“Once results from any further investigations have been reviewed by the company both locally and globally, LG Electronics Australia will take appropriate action if necessary.”
The statement follows earlier news that an LG Kompressor vacuum cleaner TV advertisement was pulled off the air in the UK after the country’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), upheld complaints by competitor vacuum cleaner manufacturer, Dyson.
Dyson took objection to the advertisement that depicted the users of several bagless vacuum cleaners surrounded by dust clouds when emptying their canisters. Meanwhile when the owner of a Kompressor vacuum emptied their canister, two bricks of compressed debris fell out, with no hint of a dust cloud.
The ASA ruled the TV commercial was in breach of UK standards because the Kompressor’s compression system only compacts large material such as fluff, while fine dust was stored in another chamber altogether, but the ASA ruled that the advertisement implies that all collected dust was compressed into a solid mass, whereas the fine dust chamber was not shown in the ad. The ASA also deemed the advertisement implied that competitors’ vacuum cleaners produced a larger dust cloud than the LG Kompressor.