ASA Slaps Telewest For Broadband Ad
Posted: 24th Sep, 2003 By: MarkJ
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a broadband advertising complaint against UK cable operator Telewest for not showing/confusing the correct 2Mbps price:
Objections to regional press and internet pop-up advertisements for a broadband service provider. The regional press advertisement was headlined "special offer £10 installation blueyonder broadband internet". Below the headline was the claim "4x faster than broadband from BT, AOL and Freeserve".
The small print stated "Customers are required to commit to a minimum period of 12 months from £29.99 a month or £25 if a Telewest phone service is taken ... Speed comparisons between Telewest's 2MB blueyonder broadband internet service and standard 512k ADLSL broadband services offered by BT, AOL and Freeserve." The pop-up advertisement was headlined "blueyonder Broadband BUY NOW We'll install it for FREE!".
1. Two complainants objected that the regional press advertisement misleadingly implied that the advertisers' 2 MB service was available for the price quoted in the footnote. He was told that the quoted price was for a 512 kbps service and that the 2 MB service would cost £54.99 a month.
Adjudication:
The Authority noted the first line of the smallprint referred to a subscription fee of "from £29.99" a month. Because the "4x faster claim" was not qualified by a reference to the cost of the 2 MB connection, the Authority considered that consumers were likely to infer that the quoted price was for the fastest service. It told the advertisers to amend their advertising.
Objections to regional press and internet pop-up advertisements for a broadband service provider. The regional press advertisement was headlined "special offer £10 installation blueyonder broadband internet". Below the headline was the claim "4x faster than broadband from BT, AOL and Freeserve".
The small print stated "Customers are required to commit to a minimum period of 12 months from £29.99 a month or £25 if a Telewest phone service is taken ... Speed comparisons between Telewest's 2MB blueyonder broadband internet service and standard 512k ADLSL broadband services offered by BT, AOL and Freeserve." The pop-up advertisement was headlined "blueyonder Broadband BUY NOW We'll install it for FREE!".
1. Two complainants objected that the regional press advertisement misleadingly implied that the advertisers' 2 MB service was available for the price quoted in the footnote. He was told that the quoted price was for a 512 kbps service and that the 2 MB service would cost £54.99 a month.
Adjudication:
The Authority noted the first line of the smallprint referred to a subscription fee of "from £29.99" a month. Because the "4x faster claim" was not qualified by a reference to the cost of the 2 MB connection, the Authority considered that consumers were likely to infer that the quoted price was for the fastest service. It told the advertisers to amend their advertising.
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