Posted: 11th Jun, 2008 By: MarkJ
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against an advert for Vodafone's mobile phone data allowance add-on service, which read: "
Any website, any time. £7.50 a month. Make the most of now." Small-print in the bottom left-hand corner stated "
Handset dependent. Includes 120MB UK data allowance per month. Terms apply. See www.vodafone.co.uk for details."
The complainant challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied Vodafone offered unlimited use for £7.50 a month:
ASA Ruling: We noted there was a disclaimer stating "120MB UK data allowance per month" at the bottom of the ad, but considered that this was not prominent enough to avoid being overlooked and also that it contradicted the impression created by the headline claim.
We considered that the download allowance was a significant condition attached to the service and was likely to influence consumers' decisions about whether to purchase the product. Because that information was not stated in, or immediately next to, the headline claim, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead about the nature of the service being offered.
http://www.asab.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_44522.htm