‘Misleading claims’on country of origin

Which? magazine singled out carmaker MG, Accurist watches and Rimmel cosmetics as “British” products that are at least partly made elsewhere, while Chrysler and Renault also ran marketing campaigns emphasising their 
respective American and French roots while partly or wholly 
making the cars in other countries.

A survey of 1,839 Which? members found that 60 per cent took a product’s country of origin into consideration when judging its quality.

The poll found 75 per cent believed an ad for the MG6 Magnette, which is made in Britain and China, implied that it was entirely made in Britain with a description of it as the “most British of sporting saloons”.

MG disagreed that it had implied that the car was made entirely in Britain, telling Which?: “The advert highlights the high levels of equipment fitted in the MG6 Magnette as standard, which on many German saloon cars would be additional equipment that customers would have to pay for.

“The advert is all about value for money.”

An Accurist ad featuring the tagline A Timeless British Classic left 83 per cent of those polled believing this implied that the watch was made in Britain, when it was actually made in China and Japan, while 68 per cent said they would feel misled if they bought it and found out it was not made in Britain.

One member said: “How could A Timeless British Classic not be made in Britain?”

Accurist responded: “We refute any suggestion that the advertisement implies that the watch featured, or any of our watches, are made in the UK.

“The use of A Timeless British Classic accurately reflects our position as a British brand and has been approved by (advertising advice body) Clearcast.”

Cosmetics brand Rimmel also confused those polled with its “truly British” range called “The Brit Collection”, with 48 per cent saying they would feel misled if they found out the products were not made in Britain.

Rimmel products are made in Britain, Italy, Spain and China.