...I agree with K, it would be nice to think that these people would fall under UK rules for false or misleading advertising, but as the content is hosted from overseas I can't see it happening. ...
That's the issue, the UK rules apply but there is no way of enforcing them on a foreign based operation. In any case, even in the UK the ASA has few sanctions it can impose other than order the offender not to do it again.
As it happens, one of the most recent rulings is for a laser welder. The complaint upheld isn't about the functionality but gender stereotypes!
ASA Ruling on Wuxi Zhan'ao E-commerce Co LtdThe ad featured on-screen text that stated, “Smart operation, even women can weld well. The built-in laser intelligent application system makes it easy for even novice operators to operate”. We considered that the statement “even women can weld well” implied that women were less skilled than men at performing mechanical tasks and that the laser welding tool was so easy to use, even women would be able to use it.
We concluded that the ad included a gender stereotype that was likely to cause harm or serious offence and therefore breached the Code.
Wuxi Zhan'ao E-commerce Co Ltd t/a Lpows.com did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Action: The ad must not appear again in the form complained about.Of course, Wuxi Zhan'ao will take no notice and the ASA can't do anything about it.
