A campaign for We Buy Any Car has been bumped off the schedules following complaints from rivals CarWow and Motorway Online that the ads misleadingly implied that its service was quicker, easier and more effective than competitors.
The issue was sparked by a TV ad, devised by agency Brothers & Sisters, that also ran on YouTube.
It opened on a grey scene with a man standing next to his car, while a prospective buyer unhappily pulled at the car’s windscreen wiper. The voice-over stated: “Robbie could get an offer from another car buying site or sell direct to We Buy Any Car.”
The scene then turned colourful and green with a We Buy Any Car branded building in the background and showed Robbie waving at the sales representative as she happily looked at his car.
The scene became grey again and showed the original prospective buyer kicking the tyres of Robbie’s car, shaking his head and gesturing ‘no’, and the voice-over continued: “A dealer could come to his home, then decide not to buy it. Or he could save time with a guaranteed sale and get back to his cupcakes.”
Small text at the bottom of the screen stated: “Subject to verifying the actual condition & history of the car. Admin Fee may apply. Webuyanycar.com/info”.
The scene turned green again and the We Buy Any Car representative shook hands with Robbie as he handed her the keys to his car. The voice-over concluded: “Proper rubbish or proper tasty?”
Text at the end stated: “To get a quote in 30 seconds, enter your reg number now at webuyanycar.com” and the brand logo was shown.
After receiving the two complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority launched an investigation.
In its defence, We Buy Any Car Ltd claimed the ads made no comparisons with identifiable competitors, maintaining that the ads’ references to “other buying sites” and “dealers” were generic.
It argued that the ads did not include any unqualified superlative claims, which would have justified viewing the spot through the lens of a comparison against possible competitors. It therefore did not consider it necessary to hold evidence relating to the speed at which consumers could sell their car through other car buying services, or as to whether other services offered guaranteed sales.
Finally, the company insisted that CarWow and Motorway Online were not, in any case, competitors because both acted as intermediaries connecting consumers with a network of third-party dealers, whereas We Buy Any Car was a direct purchaser of used vehicles from consumers.
However, the ASA was not impressed, citing the CAP and BCAP Codes which state comparisons with identifiable competitors must not mislead, or be likely to mislead consumers about either the advertised product or the competing product(s).
The ASA considered the overall impression created by the claims, the grey and colourful visuals and the simple scenarios presented was that We Buy Any Car was comparing itself to other car buying sites.
Additionally, while Motorway and CarWow’s business models were slightly different from We Buy Any Car’s, the intended audience of the ads was consumers who were considering selling their car.
The contrast between the “dealer” in the ad inspecting the windscreen wipers and kicking the tyres of the car and the efficiency of the We Buy Any Car sales representative further added to the impression that speed was being compared.
Because the ads did not provide sufficient information to allow consumers to verify the comparative claims, the watchdog concluded that they were misleading and breached the Codes.
Banning the ads from running again, the ASA went on to warn the company about future activity.
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