Posted: 01st Oct, 2003 By: MarkJ
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has revised a complaint made by ISP
Freeserve against NTL regarding an advert for its 128Kbps package. The offer is touted as broadband, which
Freeserve believed to be incorrect; the complaint was upheld:
Complaint:
Freeserve.com plc objected to two national press and magazine advertisements for an Internet service. The advertisements stated "High Speed Broadband Internet only £14.99 a month From the UK's No.1 Broadband Internet provider ...". The complainants, who believed users of the advertisers' 128 kbps speed product should not be counted as broadband customers, challenged the claim "the UK's No.1 Broadband Internet provider".
Adjudication:
Complaint upheld
REVISED ADJUDICATION
This adjudication replaces that published on 21 May 2003. The wording of the adjudication has been revised, although the complaint remains upheld.
The advertisers provided information to show that, when users of their 128 kbps service were included, they had more residential broadband customers than did other Internet Service Providers in the UK. They explained that they offered a range of broadband services at different speeds and prices: a bronze service at 128 kbps, a silver service at 600 kbps and a gold service at 1 Mbps. The Authority acknowledged that the claim "the UK's No 1 Broadband Internet provider" was justified when users of the advertisers' bronze service were included. The Authority nevertheless considered that readers of the advertisements would not necessarily understand that the claim was made on that basis. The Authority told the advertisers to amend the advertisements to make clear that the claim was based on users of their 128 kbps service being included.The update seems to confuse matters slightly because it appears to skate around the original issue of whether NTLs 128Kbps offer is allowed to be classified as a broadband product.
Original Complaint News ItemNTLs ResponceNTLs Appeal