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New rules are killing deceptive broadband ads in the UK
Nearly every telecom in the UK has reduced advertised broadband speeds thanks to new rules, according to consumer watchdog Which?. Until recently, telecoms were allowed to brag about peak speeds that were available to only one in ten users. Last year, however, the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) ordered them to show average speeds available to half of all customers at peak hours. As a result, the cheapest packages now show speeds of 10 or 11 Mbps, rather than "up to 17 Mbps" -- a 41 percent drop.
eHarmony can't claim its matches are 'scientific' anymore
Turns out that dating service eHarmony has a weird definition of "science" when the law comes knocking. An ad in the London subway system triggered the UK's Advertising Standards Agency to call the "scientifically proven" matching system "misleading," as spotted by the BBC. From the ASA:
UK watchdog tells ISPs to advertise ‘real’ broadband speeds
Broadband packages are notoriously difficult to untangle. Prices are obscured with introductory discounts and the speeds you get are nothing like what was advertised. It sucks, and the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) knows it. So today, the watchdog has announced new rules for broadband advertising. From now on, the figure you see must be based on the download speeds available to 50 percent of the company's customers at peak hours. In addition, a qualifier like "average" must be visible. It's a marked improvement over the previous guidelines, which said speeds must be available to at least 10 percent of customers.
UK watchdog calls out unlabelled Snapchat ads for the first time
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has its work cut out for it as the line between legitimate online content and ads gets ever blurrier. Social media "influencers" regularly flout the rules and despite the sheer volume of posts across different platforms, the ASA occasionally issues slaps on the wrists for offending Tweets and Instagram campaigns. And today, the ASA has wagged a stern finger at Snapchat posts that weren't appropriately labelled as ads for the first time.
UK orders shutdown of online casino games aimed at kids
Have you ever seen a gambling machine or website that was all too conspicuously aimed at children? British regulators certainly have. The country's Gambling Commission and advertising overseers have ordered over 450 gambling sites to "immediately" remove casino games they say are targeting the under-18 crowd. The cartoonish graphics, cute characters and even game names (such as Piggy Payout) serve as gambling advertising that's "likely" to appeal to kids, according to an official letter. And these aren't just free titles -- bets range as high as £600 (about $792), so this could be particularly damaging if a child got access.
UK ad watchdog to tackle misleading broadband speed claims
Broadband pricing is easier to understand than it used to be. Last year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) forced ISPs to include line rental in the price of contracts, so consumers know exactly what they're expected to pay each month. (Introductory discounts still obscure the price you'll be paying later down the line, but hey-ho. Baby steps.) That November, the ASA said it was also time to revisit speed claims, given most customers are unlikely to get what's advertised. Today, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) -- which sets the rules the ASA enforce -- has proposed a number of ways speed claims could be made more transparent.
Sky broadband ads now show the speeds you'll actually get
Sky's got not one, not two, but three tidbits of broadband-related news to share today, just before knocking off for Christmas. The first is the launch of the "UK's lowest fibre broadband and line rental offer" at £20 per month, with a one-off £20 setup fee. It's exclusive to new and existing Sky TV customers, and similar discounts can be found on the provider's other fibre options. Next up, Sky's got a new customer support team dedicated solely to fixing broadband issues, which we'll call the on/off squad. Most interesting, though, is from today Sky will begin advertising the average download speeds of its broadband packages alongside the standard "up to" metric.
'No Man's Sky' cleared in false advertising investigation
No Man's Sky developer Hello Games has emerged from a marketing investigation unscathed. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has spent the last two months examining claims that the game's steam page is misleading. Disgruntled players had taken issue with screenshots, videos and text which, in their opinion, showed the game with better visuals, performance and planetary exploration. These covered warping, ship battles and the complexity of extraterrestrial life. The ASA disagreed, however, concluding that the materials were largely representative of the final product and "unlikely to mislead" consumers.
UK ISP rapped for disguising flyers as missed delivery slips
It's fairly common for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to wag a finger at ISPs and mobile operators for misleading claims or poorly worded fine print. Every now and again, though, the watchdog deals with a slightly more unusual complaint. The latest company giving the ASA a headache is fibre broadband provider Hyperoptic, which is in trouble for a snail-mail marketing campaign that looked a little too similar to the cards you get through the door when you've missed a parcel delivery.
UK ad watchdog forces ISPs to simplify broadband pricing
TalkTalk announced just yesterday that, later this year, it would simplify its broadband prices by including line rental in the monthly costs. And now we know why. Sure, a single figure makes it easier to understand what you'll be paying each month, but it was hardly an altruistic move. It's almost as if TalkTalk knew that today, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was going to confirm new guidelines that effectively force internet service providers (ISPs) to make broadband contract pricing more transparent.
TalkTalk to simplify broadband prices by including line rental
Line rental is one of the things you have to consider when taking out a broadband contract, since they almost always come hand in hand. But with these two separate monthly fees, one-off setup charges and introductory discounts, you need ten minutes and a calculator to figure out exactly what you're being asked to pay. TalkTalk has pledged today, however, that this autumn it's going to make everything that bit simpler, by bundling line rental and broadband costs into one, transparent monthly price for all of its packages.
BT Sport ads banned for promoting 'free' Champions League coverage
Once again, BT has been criticised for promoting its BT Sport channels with "misleading" TV ads. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told the company to pull a number of adverts, including a prominent one on TV, which promises free BT Sport access for BT TV and BT broadband customers. For BT, this is particularly bad timing. The company finally has the rights to broadcast live Champions League and Europa League football in the UK, after snatching them from Sky back in 2013. The two prestigious tournaments didn't come cheap, so BT needs BT Sport -- and specifically its new BT Sport Europe channel -- to be a resounding success. With that in mind, BT has been heavily promoting its European sports coverage as a "free" extra for all BT TV customers.
UK advert police explain to vloggers what an advert is
Vloggers, bloggers and social media celebs have captive, loyal audiences that make them prime partners for marketers. Like it or not, most new media stars dabble in advertising of one form or another -- you can't live on YouTube kickbacks alone now, can you? -- but it's not always easy to tell regular content from promotions. Not all product plugs are as blatant as Kim Kardashian's recent Instagram mishap, for instance. According to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), vloggers and kin have been seeking clear rules on what constitutes promotional content, and how it needs to be labelled. And to help them play by the rules, the ASA's Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has today published new "vlogging advertising guidance," also known as the "common sense handbook."
Smartphone ad banned from UK TV for objectifying women
Kazam is hardly a well-known smartphone brand in the UK, and that's unlikely to change any time soon if its ads are being pulled from TV. After a series of complaints, Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an ad for the company's Tornado 348 handset, ruling that it objectifies women and is "sexually suggestive." The clip shows a woman moseying around in her underwear, grabbing a pair of jeans and ironing a shirt, only to discover that she'd forgotten to take her smartphone out of the top pocket.
Apple wins ad standards conflict over Siri in the UK
When the iPhone 4S and Siri first arrived in the UK last October, carrier Vodafone created a website ad that promoted the features of Apple's intelligent assistant. The ad touted (among other things) that Siri "can even use information from your iPhone -- such as your location, contacts and contact relationships -- to provide intelligent, personal assistance." Some Siri location features only work in the U.S. at this time, so a Vodafone customer complained to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the ad. Vodafone passed the ball to Apple, saying that the company had given the offending text to their ad team. The ASA ruled in favor of Apple and Vodafone on Wednesday, saying that the advertisement was not misleading. The ad did not specifically state that Siri had maps-based functionality in the UK, but did show location-based weather reports -- something that Siri can do in the UK. As a result, the ASA felt that the ad was accurate. The ASA also noted that some consumers may have had knowledge of what Siri can do in the U.S., and that they may have "read into the ad that Siri users in the UK would benefit from similar maps-based functionality." The ASA felt that the average UK consumer would not know about that capability, and since the ad didn't "explicitly or implicitly" make such claims, it was not misleading. The moral of the story? Before you file a formal complaint about a tech advertisement being misleading, be sure to check the features for your own country. [via Electronista]
UK's Advertising Standards Authority rules iPhone 4 is thinnest
Apple has gained another victory over Samsung, though this one has nothing to do with patents. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the iPhone 4 is indeed the thinnest smartphone in the country. Apple refers to the iPhone 4 as the "thinnest" smartphone in UK ads. That's something Samsung said was false advertising because their Galaxy S II smartphone is 8.71mm at its thinnest, while Apple's iPhone 4 is 9.3mm at it's thinnest. However the ASA sided with Apple in the dispute, citing that though the Galaxy S II was indeed thinner than the iPhone at certain points of its body, the Galaxy S II has a hump near its base that measures 9.91mm thick. Both Apple and the ASA believe that a phone's thinness can only be judged by the thickest part of the device. "Apple pointed out that the Galaxy S II had prominent bulges at the top of the device," the ASA said in its ruling on Wednesday. "Apple said consumers would not be interested in the thinnest part of the device, but in its overall measurements, as these would, for example, affect whether the device could fit into a pocket or purse."
UK Advertising Authority smacks Motorola for misleading Atrix advert (video)
Oh dear. Remember Motorola's advert claiming the Atrix was the "world's most powerful smartphone?" Well it's now been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority. Viewers complained about the misleading phrase as the Galaxy S II has a faster 1.2 GHz processor, compared to Atrix's 1GHz. Moto said it meant "powerful" in the sense it could drive various devices -- the ASA didn't agree, since the phrase was read out over the final shot in the advert, where the phone appears in isolation. It ruled that as such, the advert was misleading and can only reappear on UK TV with the contentious phrase removed. Armchair adjudicators can decide for themselves in the video after the break.
UK Advertising Authority takes issue with Atrix's 'world's most powerful smartphone' status
Just about every day we're treated to claims of a device being the "world's first" or "world's biggest" or, indeed, "world's fastest." Typically we file these stories into the "world's least exciting" folder in our inbox, but in the UK, Motorola's advertising wing has really been pushing the "world's most powerful smartphone" angle for the Atrix. Sharp-eyed UK viewers (one of whom was kind enough to write in to us) aren't buying it, however, complaining to the nation's Advertising Standards Authority, the ASA. Citing the Galaxy S II, which has a 1.2GHz processor compared to the Atrix's 1GHz, the ASA has indicated that the complaint will be upheld, as you can see for yourself after the break. Now, it's looking like Motorola will have to come up with a new way to market the thing over there. We'd suggest "smartphone most likely to run Firefox in an overpriced laptop dock," but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. [Thanks, Anonymous]
UK authority bans Xbox 360 game ad for using PS3 footage (video)
It's a well-known fact that the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII can't hold a candle to the one on PS3, and now the UK has formally banned an ad for allegedly pulling the ol' bait-and-switch on British TV screens. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority sat down with both copies of the game and noticed a variety of graphical discrepancies, notably that "video sequences appeared sharper and colours were more vivid" on PS3 than Xbox 360. That's all well and good, but the commercial itself is reportedly being banned on a technicality -- though game developer Square Enix admits the footage used was from PS3, it claims the UK ad consists entirely of pre-rendered cutscenes that look nigh-identical on either game machine. But don't take their word for it -- judge for yourself after the break.
Truth in advertising prevails in UK, Samsung to re-word 'LED TV' ads
Turns out it's not only us HD geeks that were irked by Samsung's ad-speak pitching LED-backlit LCDs as 'LED TVs' -- and in the UK, at least, there's been some corrective action. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found that the terminology doesn't comply with marketing regulations and is misleading because unless you've got a set like Jerry Jones', the display isn't made of LEDs. Spot on, ASA! To be sure, Sammy's new sets do have plenty of redeeming qualities, but whatever marketing genius came up with the 'LED TV' phrase is going to have to go back to the drawing board. Now, if only we could get some of this reasoning applied to US marketing and/or rein in wacky contrast ratio figures, we'd really be onto something. [Via HDTV Almanac]
