ERSP Release: CDS/OzoneLite Participates in ERSP Forum

Marketer of the O•ZONELite air purifier provides a reasonable basis for performance and safety claims and also asked to modify comparisons to HEPA filters

New York, NY – August 15, 2005 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP), the electronic direct-response industry’s self-regulatory forum supervised by the National Advertising Review Council (NARC), announced that CDS/O•ZONELite,marketers of the O•ZONELite air purifier, provided a reasonable basis for performance and safety claims made in their advertising. ERSP did recommend that the company modify comparisons to   high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. The marketer's advertising was reviewed pursuant to ERSP's ongoing monitoring program.

Among the core claims that ERSP requested  CDS/O•ZONELiteto substantiate were as follows:

• “Test results show the absolute assault on smoke over a 40-minute time period.”
• “O•ZONELite™ is so energy efficient that it pays for itself, saving the user an average of $50 in energy consumption over the life of the bulb (lasts up to 6,000 hours — 8 times longer than an average light bulb).”
• “In addition, the O•ZONELite™ is far more effective, easier to use and more cost effective than the currently popular HEPA filters.”

ERSP determined that the marketer provided a reasonable basis for the performance and safety claims made for the O•ZONELite. ERSP also acknowledged the comparative benefits of O•ZONELite regarding ease of use and cost savings. . However, ERSP determined that the marketer’s competitive testing against HEPA filters did not provide adequate support for comparative superiority claims made regarding the performance of the O·ZONELite air purifier versus HEPA filters, in general.

In response to the decision, , CDS/OZONELite noted that the company “…welcomes the conclusion of ERSP that the results … were accurately presented in the advertising for OZONELite™ and demonstrated the effectiveness of OZONELite™ in reducing smoke, airborne bacteria, airborne fungal spores (mold), various harmful gases and pollen.”

The company also said it would “discontinue superiority claims as against HEPA filters until it conducts comparative testing proving performance superiority.”

For a complete case report of the ERSP Decision, please contact Tessa Barrera at 212.705.0104.

For media inquiries, please contact Linda Bean at 212-705-0129.

ERSP was launched on August 1, 2004 with policy oversight provided by National Advertising Review Council (“NARC”) to look at the truth and accuracy of claims in direct response marketing. The direct response industry includes long form (infomercial) productions, short-form commercials, live home shopping channels, print advertising, Internet marketing and radio advertising. This self-regulatory forum inquires about the evidentiary support that a marketer possess for product claims being communicated in direct response advertising and are brought to ERSP’s attention through competitive challenges and ERSP’s own ongoing monitoring program.

ERSP’s inquiry was conducted under the NARC/ERA Policy and Procedures for The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program. Details of the initial inquiry, ERSP’s decision, and the marketer’s response will be included on the NARC website.

The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB).  Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation.  NARC is the body that supervises and administers the policies and procedures for the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP).

NAD, CARU, and ERSP are the investigative arms of the advertising industry’s voluntary self-regulation program.  Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, consumers and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet.  The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level.  This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community.