Posted: 07th Nov, 2007 By: MarkJ
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld four complaints from members of the public and VirginMedia against one of BSkyB's press adverts for its broadband service.
The advert itself claimed that third party speed tests had shown Sky to be faster than VirginMedia's service, it also made a price comparison. The following elements were challenged:
Virgin Media Ltd and two members of the public challenged whether:
1. The tests referred to were carried out between October 2006 and January 2007 and were therefore out of date when the ad was published in July 2007.
2. It did not make clear that Sky had faster average download speeds because Sky broadband customers who took part in the test would have purchased broadband with higher speeds than Virgin customers.
Virgin Media and one member of the public challenged whether:
3. The price comparison was misleading, because it compared Sky's price for broadband as part of a bundle with
Virgin Media's price for stand alone broadband.
Virgin Media challenged whether:
4. The pricing information for Sky broadband was misleading, because it did not make clear that consumers would also have to pay for BT line rental at £10.50 per month.
The ASA upheld all four complaints and told Sky not to repeat the ad and advised them to seek help for amendments from the CAP Copy Advice team.