Refrigerator with energy efficiency class A+ 'very economical'?

A manufacturer of refrigeration and freezing appliances was issued a cease-and-desist letter by a competition association for violation of competition law, as it advertised one of its refrigerator-freezer combinations, which belongs to energy efficiency class A+, as 'very economical in energy consumption'. The association demanded a cease-and-desist order with penalty for misleading the relevant market participants.

At the beginning of 2010, the defendant advertised a refrigeration and freezing appliance in its brochure, among other things, with the advertising slogan 'very economical in energy consumption'.

The Regional Court (LG) Freiburg was now to decide whether this advertising statement was capable of deceiving the relevant market regarding the actual energy consumption of the product in question.

Court's decision
In its decision of 12.7.2010, Az. 12 O 37/10 the Regional Court (LG) Freiburg upheld the association's position.

A commercial practice is misleading if it contains false statements or other statements capable of deceiving regarding the essential characteristics of the product or service.
The advertising slogan 'very economical in energy consumption' does not describe a top-ranking position; however, the advertising statement certainly implies the assertion that the freezing appliance belongs to a top-ranking group.

The statement 'very economical' is an addition compared to the designation of an appliance as economical. Consequently, the appliance advertised by the manufacturer is intended to have a special qualification from the perspective of energy consumption, which makes the appliance appear not just economical, but very economical in comparison to other appliances.

However, this is not the case with the product at hand. In fact, today more than 50% of all appliances belong to the two highest energy efficiency classes. Under these circumstances, an appliance that only belongs to energy efficiency class A+ can no longer be referred to as 'very economical in energy consumption'. Rather, this constitutes a serious deception of the consumer.

Conclusion

Every advertising statement must be viewed in the overall context of the respective market and the respective product. It is therefore advisable to regularly conduct a competition law review of advertising slogans.