Benq attacked for encouraging fake sick days

THE BRITISH Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints against Taiwanese giant Benq for a European cup related advertising campaign.

We reported from Computex in June that Benq was starting a campaign such as "Bogus sick days will be 33% more enjoyable this summer" and suggested that UK employers weren't going to like this.

Now the ASA has upheld a complaint for an advert in channel magazine Microscope for a Benq Centrino laptop which showed a man lying in his pit of Acheron with the headline "Bogus sick days will be 33% more enjoyable this summer".

It suggested that rather and go do a bit of channel spiffing, suits at distributors and dealers could, in the quaint British parlance "throw a sickie".

The ASA upheld the complaint, despite Benq claiming the ad didn't encourage employees to take time off under false pretences, as the complainant put it.

Benq said the ad was a light hearted reference that suggested sick days would increase by between 30% and 40% during the soccer tourney.

But the ASA said that while it recognised the ad was supposed to be a bit of a laugh, "it irresponsibly condoned absenteeism from work under false pretences". It told Benq to avoid a similar approach in the future. µ