Dr Solomon?s scores over rival in ad row

Advertising watchdog upholds antivirus software vendor?s complaint against McAfee about role of Dr Alan Solomon

The public war of words between antivirus vendors McAfee and Dr Solomon?s Software took a further twist as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against a McAfee advert.

The ruling is the culmination of a long-standing feud between the vendors. Recently, McAfee accused Dr Solomon?s of having a cheat mode in its toolkit to give it favourable results in reviews (PC Dealer, 7 May).

Dr Solomon?s objected that the McAfee advert implied that it no longer provided antivirus services. Reseller Quivogne UK made a further complaint ? which was also upheld ? that McAfee advertised market share figures that were inaccurate

Mike Hill, Dr Solomon?s product marketing director, said: ?We are delighted that the ASA has vindicated our complaint. We would like McAfee to apologise.?

Hill said it was a moral victory, but he questioned the length of time taken to get an adjudication from the ASA. McAfee first ran the offending advert in September 1996, and the adjudication has just been published. ?McAfee?s marketing tactics are just to rubbish the opposition,? said Hill.

Jeff Barnes, McAfee director for Northern Europe, said the company would abide by the ASA ruling but claimed that it had nothing to apologise for.

?We are taking market share away from Dr Solomon?s in the UK,? said Barnes. ?It has had it easy for too long and does not like our challenge.? Barnes said future McAfee adverts would ?stress the positive? but that he was happy to continue running comparative advertising.

The McAfee advert centred on the fact that Alan Solomon had sold the business, and had retired from his position as chairman. But the ASA ruled that Alan Solomon still played an active role in the company, and that the advertisement was therefore misleading and denigratory.