Sept.17: TALL TALK
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in September
Catche Must-quit-o – Unbelievable effectsÂ
The print advertisement of mosquito repellent Catche Must-quit-o makes some absurd claims. Calling itself ‘a revolutionary way to reduce mosquitoes in your surroundings’, it says it ‘traps only female mosquitoes which bite’! Among the other claims made are that it ‘purifies air’ and ‘reduces 90% bacterial load in the room’. We complained about the advt.
The advertiser said it had carried out several tests that support the claims. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) asked its technical expert to study the test reports. ASCI concluded that 12 of the 14 claims were inadequately substantiated. For one, the repellent had not been tested on male mosquitoes at all! Even the claim that the product was non-toxic as per OECD guidelines was in doubt. ASCI found the claims to be misleading by ambiguity and exaggeration. As such, the advt contravened Chapters 1.1 and 1.4 of the ASCI Code. The advertiser has been asked to withdraw or modify the advt.
Absurd claims