Samsung gets ASA rebuke for LED TV confusion
LED backlighting not the same as LED TV
27 August 2009 17:33 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott
Samsung has been told off by the Advertising Standards Authority for recent adverts that misled consumers about the technology used in its televisions.
The ads, that appeared on TV (with print versions too), stated "Samsung LED technology brings you sharper images, deeper blacks and brighter colours. The ultra slim Samsung LED TV. The next generation of television has arrived".
Complainants got in touch with the ASA to challenge whether the ads misled consumers by implying that the product had a full LED display, when in fact it merely used LEDs for backlighting.
In its defence, Samsung said that "the phrase "LED TV" was intended to communicate the type of technology their TVs used in a general way to the consumer and had used the phrase for their edge-lit TVs since December 2008".
The TV maker said that although this kind of display was initially referred to as "LED-based LCD TV" or "LED LCD TV", the term had evolved and they were now called LED TVs by consumers and the industry.
The ASA was not convinced however, and has ruled: "The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Samsung to ensure that future marketing communications described the technology their products used accurately".
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