bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
taken from some website.
Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd t/a Shell Select Service Stations
PO Box 403
Staines
Middlesex
TW18 3ZB
Date: 18th February 2004
Media: Leaflet
Sector: Leisure
Public Complaints From: Hertfordshire, London, Surrey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Complaint:
Objections to two leaflets for unleaded petrol. The first leaflet claimed "... Shell Optimax Unleaded. For an extra burst of power just when you need it." On the other side, the leaflet stated "... Try the UK's best performance petrol and feel the difference. The Shell scientists, who develop the fuels for the Ferrari F1 cars, have used the same advanced technology to create a completely new unleaded fuel for the UK motorist - Shell Optimax. Optimum performance. It gives you an extra burst of power just when you need it ...". The second leaflet stated on the front cover "... Shell Optimax See why it's the best performance unleaded ...". Inside, the leaflet claimed "... For the ultimate drive. As the number of vehicles on the road increases, knowing your car will respond quickly and effectively becomes ever more important. In difficult driving conditions, you need the confidence that you can get that extra burst of speed - just when you need it. It's responsive ... Shell Optimax is an unleaded, high octane fuel that enhances your vehicle's response and improves the engine's performance, giving you that extra safety margin when it's required but it protects too ... to keep your engine running at its best ... So even when you are demanding the most from your car, you know Shell Optimax is looking after your engine. The science behind the performance ... If deposits have already formed, Shell Optimax's detergent action will loosen and dissolve the particles, removing them from the valves, so the more you use Shell Optimax the cleaner your engine becomes ... Fuel is sprayed onto the back of the inlet valve where it begins to evaporate. Standard fuels can bake onto the valve leaving deposits which impair engine performance. Shell Optimax is specially designed to protect your engine from these deposits. Shell Optimax is also able to dissolve and wash away existing deposits. Removed deposits are harmlessly burned ... ". It showed before and after images of a car's inlet valve implying Shell Optimax kept the valve clean. The leaflet claimed "You'll feel the difference straight away. Put Shell Optimax in your tank and you'll put yourself in control. It improves your vehicle's responsiveness from the moment you start using it, and the more you use it the better it gets ..." and featured a diagram simulating a typical motorway manoeuvre. The diagram suggested that the car using Shell Optimax would overtake ahead of another car and the copy claimed "... The car running on Shell Optimax completes the manoeuvre 1-3 car lengths ahead of the other. Typically in an average car, Shell Optimax gives you 1-3 car lengths of safety margin over normal unleaded petrol ...".
1. The complainants challengedwhether Shell Optimax gave you an extra burst of power just when you needed it.
One complainant:
2. challenged whether Shell Optimax was the "best performance unleaded" petrol;
3. challenged whether Shell Optimax's detergent action would loosen and dissolve particles from the engine's valves and
4. challenged whether the diagram implied the advertisers' fuel alone would enable a car to overtake ahead of a car not using Shell Optimax, because performance depended also on the engine capacity, gear ratios and vehicle loading.
5. objected that the diagram and some of the claims could encourage inexperienced drivers to believe the advertisers' fuel would make overtaking safer.
Codes Section: 3.1, 7.1, 48.2, 48.3, 48.4, 48.8 (Ed 10)
Adjudication:
1. Complaints upheld
The advertisers said much research had gone into the development of Optimax. They explained that detailed research on fuel technology for motorsport had enabled their scientists to gain a unique understanding of how power could be delivered instantly to the engine from the fuel, as demanded by racing cars. The advertisers stated that their scientists had used their knowledge to develop Shell Optimax, which was designed to give the same benefit to road cars. The advertisers said Shell Optimax had been developed to address three key problems associated with the delivery of fuel to engines: the deposits left on and around the inlet valve, slow fuel vaporisation and wrong fuel quality, all of which automatically reduced the power and performance of the engine. They maintained that the new fuel formulation had been demonstrated to increase the performance of cars in tests on acceleration, power benefit and engine responsiveness, and supported that with evidence.
The Authority obtained expert advice. It understood that the evidence supplied by the advertisers showed that changing to a higher octane fuel could create a small but variable increase in the power and acceleration in some, but not all, cars. The Authority considered that the claims implied that changing to Optimax from other unleaded fuel would significantly and immediately increase the power output of any car under rapid acceleration. Because the advertisers had not shown with documentary evidence that Shell Optimax would affect all cars by increasing their power and acceleration rates, the Authority considered the claim misleading. It welcomed the advertisers' assurance that they would amend future advertisements to avoid the implication that the claim applied to all cars.
2. Complaint upheld
The advertisers believed that Shell Optimax was the "best performance unleaded" because it had the highest specified octane level in the UK and the most effective deposit-removing capacity of any fuel in the UK. They provided several tests to support their claims. The Authority obtained expert advice. It considered that the claim "best performance unleaded" suggested that the advertisers' fuel produced better performance results than all other unleaded fuels. Because the advertisers did not provide sufficient evidence that compared the performance of vehicles using Optimax with those using competitive super unleaded commercial petrol, the Authority considered that the advertisers had not shown that Optimax produced better results than all other unleaded fuels, the Authority told the advertisers to delete the claim until they could substantiate it.
3. Complaint not upheld
The advertisers maintained that Optimax was formulated with an effective detergent additive, which removed deposits from the engine to improve performance, and that, because the formulation did not contain large amounts of the materials that formed deposits, Optimax kept the engine clean. The advertisers provided several tests to support the claim. The Authority sought expert advice. It understood that the evidence supplied showed that the detergent additive removed a significant proportion of deposits on the inlet valve of cars when driven for several thousand kilometres using Optimax. It considered that the advertisers had substantiated the claim "If deposits have already formed, Shell Optimax's detergent action will loosen and dissolve the particles, removing them from the valves, so the more you use Shell Optimax the cleaner your engine becomes" and did not uphold the complaint.
4. Complaint upheld
The advertisers said the diagram pictured the performance benefits achieved by a car when using Shell Optimax compared with an identical car using normal unleaded petrol. They maintained that Optimax enabled engines to perform more effectively because of its intrinsic cleanliness, effective cleaning ability and its anti-corrosion package. They provided evidence to support the performance claims. The Authority sought expert advice. It understood that the evidence supplied by the advertisers had proved the increased acceleration claims for some, but not all, cars. The Authority considered that the diagram, which compared the performance of two identical cars using different fuels, implied that using Shell Optimax alone would enable a car to overtake faster than one using normal unleaded fuel. Furthermore, it was concerned that the claims "You'll feel the difference straight away" and "it improves your vehicle's responsiveness from the moment you start using it" suggested that the engine performance of all cars would be immediately improved by using Optimax instead of normal unleaded fuel. The Authority considered that the diagram, in conjunction with the claims, was likely to mislead readers to think that Optimax would improve performance and acceleration of all cars. It welcomed the advertisers' decision to withdraw the leaflets and amend future advertisements by deleting the diagram and supporting claims from future advertisements.
5. Complaint upheld
The advertisers maintained that the diagram and wording of the leaflet was clear and related to the benefits of using Optimax. They pointed out that they had made no statement or claim about improving the driving performance of inexperienced drivers. The Authority was concerned that the claim "crucially, it can help you to manoeuvre safely by delivering a smooth burst of power, just when you need it most" implied merely that by using Optimax it was possible to drive more safely. It considered that the advertisement was likely to encourage all drivers, both experienced and inexperienced, to think they could overtake more safely when using Shell Optimax. The Authority welcomed the advertisers' decision to withdraw the leaflets and amend future advertisements by deleting the claim ""crucially, it can help you to manoeuvre safely" before advertising again
|
Drew
Banned
Registered: 24th Nov 01
Location: County Durham
User status: Offline
|
summary anyone???
|
bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
yeah dont put it in a diesel
|
mossy
Member
Registered: 22nd Jan 04
Location: Manchester Drives: GSi
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Drew
summary anyone???
|
R Lee
Member
Registered: 15th Aug 03
User status: Offline
|
can't be arsed to read it either. 
|
Craig6682
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 03
User status: Offline
|
format c:
|
Marc
Member
Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
User status: Offline
|
Shell Optimax is better than BP Ultimate.
Hows that Drewston?
|
Drew
Banned
Registered: 24th Nov 01
Location: County Durham
User status: Offline
|
thanks marc - that will do 
|
R Lee
Member
Registered: 15th Aug 03
User status: Offline
|
i use shell optimax all the time. don't think my car has filled up at a BP yet
|
bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
and the complaint for the extra burst of power was upheld which means that shell were penalised for it??
|
Craig6682
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 03
User status: Offline
|
Total is just as good me thinks It more expensive too Nar shell is miles away from where i live 
|
bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
asda city diesel
|
Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
Summary - all of the claims about Optimax making every car faster and about making power available are untrue.
The bit about it keeping your engine clean is OK, but only if you have a dirty engine.
The end.
|
Marc
Member
Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
User status: Offline
|
Shell have always stated that Optimax was designed specifically for turbocharged engines. It has been proven that turbos run better when Optimax is used. You arent going to get the same gains in an N/A car. So unless they ran these tests on turbocharged cars the above is irrelevent.
|
charcoalgrill
Member
Registered: 23rd Oct 02
Location: Bristol
User status: Offline
|
i need a extra boost to move my mouse to get out of this shite thread
|
bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by charcoalgrill
i need a extra boost to move my mouse to get out of this shite thread
yet you click on it and reply to it and still browse on it?
|
bubble
Member
Registered: 24th Jan 04
Location: Darwin, NT Australia.
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ian
Summary - all of the claims about Optimax making every car faster and about making power available are untrue.
The bit about it keeping your engine clean is OK, but only if you have a dirty engine.
The end.
when driven for several thousand kilometres
|
Craig6682
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 03
User status: Offline
|
Who cares anyway, i only have a 1.1i :lol
:
|
AndyCorsa
Member
Registered: 24th Oct 03
Location: Macclesfield, Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
It does make a difference I think. You can't put a tank of optimax in your car and expect to feel the difference overnight though you have to run it on optimax for a few hundred miles or so.
|
nik
Member
Registered: 19th Jun 00
User status: Offline
|
I use optimax, seems to run better with it over bp ultimate
|
Dan B
Member
Registered: 25th Feb 01
User status: Offline
|
I use Optimax, it made a noticeable difference over both normal Unleaded and Super Unleaded......but only after running it in for a few tanks-full.
|
Shane
Member
Registered: 10th Jan 04
User status: Offline
|
never put it in my car 
|
Fad
Member
Registered: 1st Feb 01
Location: Dartford Kent Drives: 330cd
User status: Offline
|
i dont use optimax as i have read about people suing them for damage caused to engines particularly older engines. Some bloke with a GTE his engine detonated and the egineers report pointed towards the optimax he was usuing. Dont know if they have imporved it since then?
Its suposedly somthing to do with cleaning agents that removes the protective coke and causes wear...dont quote me on this but i asume its good for newere engines jst not older ones like my XE.
I just be safe and dont use it persoanally.
|
Jambo
Member
Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
User status: Offline
|
I use optimax id say it lets the engine rev a little free-er but wouldnt say makes it faster and its shite for mpg all other fuels seem to last me forever cept when i fill up with this poop! I just use regualr bp! seems to like my car
|
Nick-S
Member
Registered: 3rd Mar 04
Location: Leigh. Drives: RS Megane 230 F1 Team R26
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Drew
summary anyone???
Shell r a liein bunch of F**ks
Ye it cleans ur engine after 10billion miles but it dont give extra power
Wuder how it wud perform if u put it in a diesel
|
