A third formal ASA judgement against CWC [8 July 1998]
The Advertising Standards Authority have upheld a January 1998 complaint against the text of CWC billboard advertising. The full text of the ruling:
COMPLAINT
Objections to a poster that claimed '1998. The year of the smaller phone bill.' The complainants, who originally subscribed to Videotron, a telecommunications company that the advertisers had recently acquired, understood that the advertisers intended to withdraw free local calls between Videotron subscribers and were increasing all subscribers' line rental and cancelling discounts to telephone and TV cable subscribers. The complainants challenged the claim.
OUTCOME
Complaints upheld.
The advertisers said they had no immediate plans to withdraw free local off-peak calls from former Videotron customers, although they intended to convert customers to Cable & Wireless call tariffs by offering other inducements; this would lead to the phasing-out of these calls in time. They said the claim '1998. The year of the smaller phone bill' referred to the savings made against BT prices.
Regardless of whether these savings could be made against BT prices, the Authority was concerned that the advertisement did not make the basis of the claim clear; it asked the advertisers to explain that in future.
There are comments on the, now, four ASA rulings against CWC here.
Earlier news Later news
|
