ASA Ban Hamilton Reebok ZigTech Ad Due to False Claims

An advertisement featuring Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton in his role as brand ambassador for Reebok has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

The ban has come following claims published in a marketing leaflet produced by the brand that said that Reebok’s ZigTech Apparel helped blood vessels relax – boosting oxygen levels by up to 7 per cent.

However, the ASA said the claims could not be proven, and also criticised the ad for implying that the trainers worn by Hamilton featured the new technology. 

A spokeswoman for Reebok accepted the ruling but disagreed with the claims, stating: “This ruling was based on one complaint about one leaflet. The leaflet clearly showed the shoe on one side and the clothing on the other and, in our view, was not misleading.”

ASA has told Reebok that the ad cannot appear again.

The company had claimed its ZigTech Apparel was engineered with Celliant fibres, increasing oxygen levels by reflecting infrared light back into the body and allowing capillaries to relax. However, the ASA said the two studies submitted in support of the company’s claims were not ‘documentary evidence’