The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a claim against interim management provider Impact Executives on 27 June for exaggerating its market position in the UK and Europe. Impact Executives, part of Harvey Nash, will have to change its slogans in future advertisements. Impact is one of a number of recruitment businesses to have recently brushed with the ASA.

Impact Executives claimed it was a ‘clear market leader’ and ‘Europe’s leading interim management provider’. When Albemarle Interim Management filed a complaint, Impact Executives defended its claims, saying that regular discussions with colleagues and industry sources justified these statements.

In its judgement, the ASA said Impact did not provide comparative evidence to demonstrate its market position. It also failed to show the qualitative superiority it had claimed. ‘I am pleased with the decision of the ASA,’ said Albemarle’s MD Alan Horn.

Commenting on the dispute, chairman of the Interim Management Association Ian Daniell said that it was ‘unfortunate that the issue couldn’t be resolved internally. Both are substantial and well-respected companies. I think the issue of size is over-inflated. Impact Executives was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

In a separate claim, teaching recruiter Select Education reported an advert by TimePlan Education Group for similar reasons. TimePlan claimed to be ‘the UK’s largest teacher recruitment specialists’ in a series of adverts in the Times Education Supplement, an important forum for education recruiters.

‘We didn’t want any organisation to give misleading information to the marketplace,’ said a spokesperson for Select Education.

Select also made a separate complaint against Teaching Personnel, which claimed to be the largest teaching recruitment agency.