GenQ - For the not so straight individual

Dyson was rapped by advertising authorities on Wednesday after dozens of people, including Hoover, complained about its vacuum cleaner "filter" claims.

Dyson had boasted in a television advert that unlike other vacuum cleaners, its dual motors prevented dust clogging its filters and helped keep suction.

A voiceover stated: "The filter in most vacuums clogs with dust, so there is a drop in suction, but a Dyson doesn't rely on a filter, so there's nothing to clog."

On-screen text added: "Others clog ... ours don't. Dyson. No Clogging. No loss of suction."

People had complained that this implied Dyson vacuum cleaners did not have filters, when it was understood they did.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 36 complaints from people who also said the "No clogging, No loss of suction" claim was misleading.

Dyson said other vacuum cleaners relied on filters to pick up dirt and dust which was then retained inside the machine, while its own machines were different, because they used two cyclonic sections to deposit particles at the bottom of a clear bin.

Dyson said the advert did not claim its cleaners did not contain filters, but that they had a different purpose.

ASA decided the filter claim implied Dyson cleaners did not have one.

It also ruled that because the filter needed occasional cleaning to maintain suction, the claim "No clogging. No loss of suction" was misleading.