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Vodafone’s latest campaign promises minimum broadband speeds or your money back – but the ASA has ruled that its advertising campaign could mislead customers
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Vodafone’s most recent broadband advertising campaign on the grounds that it could potentially mislead consumers.
Vodafone’s adverting campaign, which features British actor Martin Freeman, claimed that customers would receive a pre-agreed minimum broadband speed or receive money off their monthly bill.
However, following complaints from a number of Vodafone’s competitors, the ASA ruled that the minimum speed guarantee could be difficult to substantiate and has therefore banned the advertising campaign.
In a brief statement to the press, Vodafone said that it was "extremely disappointed" with the ruling.
During the planned TV ad, Freeman’s character can be seen playing an online video game. After a short while, his internet connection drops out causing the game to buffer, lag and crash. His character is the advised to switch to Vodafone.
The ASA has ruled that consumers may interpret the offer as guaranteeing speeds sufficient to eliminate buffering and lag. Vodafone said that the ASA had fundamentally "misunderstood" its campaign.
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