Michelin North America was forced to make some edits for its Michelin Fuel Efficient Tires ad campaign when Tennessee natives complained about the inconsistency on the savings that motorists can get from using their new fuel efficient tires.
Michelin thus agreed to make the minor changes to its ad and will also be paying $375,000 to cover the cost of investigating the whole issue. Michelin also stressed that they followed prevailing Federal Trade Commission advertising guidelines and denied any wrongdoing.
Tennessee’s complaint alleged “that Michelin’s fuel efficiency advertisements did not adequately disclose that the advertised costs savings were based solely on savings in fuel costs, not on the comparative costs of competing tires,” the attorney general said.
“The ads did not mention consumers may save more money by buying a cheaper tire or other cost-saving factors. Further, the state’s review of Michelin’s own studies indicates that its tires are only the most fuel efficient in 78% of its classes of tires. The states also expressed concern that footnote disclosures regarding the fuel efficiency advertisements were not clear and conspicuous.”
(Source) Tire Review
Tags: ad campaign, advertisements, advertising guidelines, comparative costs, federal trade commission, fuel efficiency, fuel efficient tires, michelin, michelin north america, motorists