In the Auckland District Court today Johnson and Johnson (New Zealand) Limited admitted that its television advertising of a "free trial" of Acuvue contact lenses was misleading, pleaded guilty to breaching the Fair Trading Act and was fined $9,000.

The Commerce Commission prosecuted Johnson and Johnson.

Commission Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy said that the "free trial" of the contact lenses was not free, most people had to pay optometrists fees of between $30 and $50.

The advertisements, screened nation-wide, ended with the words "free-trial pair" on the screen in large print, a voice-over announcing "call for a free trial", but small print briefly on the bottom of the screen read "professional fees apply".

Ms Leamy said it was disappointing that after recent prosecutions of other companies and considerable publicity and education, a major company like Johnson and Johnson could still make such a mistake.

"Courts have previously made it crystal clear that fine print cannot save misleading ads from breaching the Act," she said.

"It is the impression given by the ad that counts. You cannot say one thing in bold print with bright lights and voice-overs, and something completely different in the fine print."

Advice from the Commission is that all important conditions must be accurately and clearly explained in advertising.

If the style of advertising proposed does not allow that, then the style should be changed. If the style cannot be changed and still convey the message, then some hard questions have to be asked about the message. How accurately does it describe the goods or services offered? Is it at risk of misleading consumers?

The test the courts apply is what do consumers take the advertising to mean?

The best policy is to ask that question before advertisements are published or broadcast. And change them if necessary.

Media contact: Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy

Phone work (04) 498 0908

Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa

Phone work (04) 498 0920

Commission media releases can be viewed on its website www.comcom.govt.nz