German and Scandinavian kitchens are widely perceived
as being of higher quality than British kitchens and a viewer of
Moben's TV ad complained to the Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA)the apparent use of the umlaut in the company's name implied
that Moben was a German company.
According to Wikipedia, similar thinking influenced Dixons'
choice for its own-brand electronics in the 1980s – hence the
Japanese-sounding 'Matsui', for a company based in
Hertfordshire.
Five years ago, the ASA ruled against Moben in response to a
similar complaint and ordered the firm to remove the little dots
from its printed ads.
But this time the ASA was more forgiving. It referred to the
Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre which said that using a
German-sounding name did not imply that Moben or its products were
German. It pointed out that Prêt a Manger's sandwiches were
unlikely to be considered French.
Moben said 'Möben' has been a registered trade mark since 1977.
It denies trying to boost its credibility with an umlaut. Rather,
it has argued that the dots are an artistic device and that any
resemblance with an umlaut is coincidental. The dots appear on its
signs but not in text in its ads or in the text of its website.
After the last ASA ruling, it altered its press advertising to
make clear that it was a British company. It said it would be happy
to add a similar disclaimer to its TV ads.
The ASA welcomed that offer – but concluded that umlauts are
used in countries other than German (they can be found in Austria,
Switzerland and Lichtenstein) and that viewers would recognise that
a company's trade mark would not necessarily relate directly to the
origin of that company or its products. It also noted that the
website featured in the ad was moben.co.uk – which supported a
British connection.
