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Prism+ air-con ad deemed ‘greenwashing’ by S’pore watchdog; company defends it as ‘tongue-in-cheek’

2023-12-15 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – The Republic’s advertising standards watchdog has deemed an advertisement by local electronics company Prism+ “not acceptable” for its misleading claims about the environmental friendliness of its line of air conditioners.

This marks the first time the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (Asas) has found a company in breach of the advertising code for greenwashing, which is marketing that exaggerates the sustainability of a product.

The offending ad for the Prism+ zero smart air-con was pulled from the company’s Instagram page after it was notified by Asas on Dec 5, said Asas chairman Ang Peng Hwa in a statement to ST on Dec 15.

Asas had received a complaint on the campaign, which included a video that featured influencer Wendy Cheng - better known as Xiaxue - on a mission to “save the earth”. In the video, she put on winter wear and set her Prism+ air-con temperature to 23 deg C.

“Save Earth and electricity with 5 ticks energy saving,” read the caption, referring to Singapore’s classification system for the energy efficiency of electrical appliances, with five ticks being the highest rating.

After deliberation, Asas’ council found the wording of the ad to be in breach of the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (Scap).

Asas singled out specifically the claim that using Prism+ air conditioners was the “best tip” to “save Earth” and the depiction of Xiaxue setting the temperature to 23 deg C to do so.

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Said Prof Ang: “The council is of the position that these are not acceptable under the Scap to communicate that the product brings about energy savings, irrespective of whether they can be demonstrated, in view of the energy such appliances consume.”

In particular, Prism+ had flouted the code’s standards which require advertisements not to mislead by “inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration or omission” and not to misrepresent any matter likely to influence consumers’ attitudes to the product.

Asas also reminded Prism+ that any claims about energy savings should be substantiated by tests conducted by independent parties in conditions that are applicable to the local context.

Responding to the decision, a spokesman for Prism+ told ST the ad was meant to be “playful and tongue-in-cheek”, and described its theme of saving the Earth as “satirical humour”.

“We believe that consumers should be discerning enough to know that regardless of how efficient an air conditioner is, it is not going to be beneficial for the environment,” he said.

In any case, energy saving is not a key selling point of Prism+ air conditioners, he added, saying: “Everyone sells 5-tick air-cons now.”