30th Jun 11
Virgin reprimanded on broadband claims
by Harry Oldfield
fastest finger first: Virgin Media reprimanded for braodband spped con claims
fastest finger first: Virgin Media reprimanded for braodband spped con claims
The Advertisiing Standards Authority has reprimanded Virgin Media for an online campaign which claimed rival broadband services conned customers.
The campaign, “Stop the broadband con”, attempted to change the ways in which other broadband services went about advertising. Both Sky and BT complained to the ASA, which in turn ruled in their favour. It now means that the campaign is not allowed to appear in its present form again.
The website which Virgin launched included a letter from Chairman Richard Branson, claiming competitors were not sticking to their promises, and had links to the official broadband report by Ofcom and a speed test. It also included a video, imitating Sky’s broadband advert.
It urged users to spread this information and it was this part of the campaign which enabled the ASA to apply its advertising regulations to it. The ASA ruling said that they considered the advert went further than highlighting the disparity Virgin felt existed between broadband speeds which were advertised and those which were delivered. The ruling also stated that the advert implied that other ISPs treated customers dishonestly regarding connection speeds.
Virgin Media argued that the campaign was meant to highlight the widespread dissatisfaction among consumers in relation to the advertising of broadband speeds. This issue has also been highlighted by Ofcom. A study conducted in March discovered that only 14 per cent of customers using up to’ 20Mbps services got speeds of more than 12Mbps, while as many as 58 per cent averaged speeds of 6Mbps or below.
A Virgin Media spokesman responded to the ruling by claiming that advertising broadband speeds using ‘up to’ makes it possible to deliver a con. He said that Ofcom, the ASA, thousands of internet groups and numerous consumer groups have all reiterated Virgin’s call for change and, rather than complaining about a legitimate attempt to hear what consumers have to say, BT and Sky should take on the challenge and start to be honest about their broadband. It has also encouraged Ofcom to force companies to advertise average speeds instead of ‘up to’ speeds.
BT has welcomed ASA’s ruling. BT Retail’s managing director John Petter described it as embarrassing for Virgin Media. He said that its campaign for the rest of the industry to use ‘average’ speeds rather than ‘up to’ speeds relied heavily on misleading broadband consumers to make this point.
In addition, the ASA instructed Virgin Media to make sure their marketing material in the future did not denigrate of discredit other marketers.
Our Stories
- UK retail sales down as M&S misses targets
- Sandwich labels misleading shoppers
- Unemployment drops unexpectedly but worse still to come
- Tesco store managers see annual bonuses cut
- Royal Mail: half London sorting office to be sold
- Panasonic announces £3.4bn loss
- Thomas Cook attacks government over holidays at home promotion
- Clinton Cards falls into administration
- Wet April sees high street spending fall
- Five tough years ahead for UK jobs market
- Deal struck to save Thomas Cook
- Discount battle leads to sales decline at Morrisons
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda amazon Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
