Denigration

Advertisements must not discredit or denigrate another product, advertiser or advertisement, whether by implication or directly.

Describing a competitor’s product in a derogatory way or using a voiceover with a denigratory tone is unacceptable. Advertisements should be confined to the positive benefits of the advertiser’s service, rather than highlighting the negative aspects of a competitor’s product or service. Copy may imply ‘Avoid the cowboys, come to us’ but must not imply ‘Everyone else is a cowboy, come to us’.

It is acceptable for copy to make valid, like-with-like factual comparisons but the copy must not imply that, because the competitor product lacks a certain feature, it is in some way inadequate.