BT not allowed to use Best Performing Broadband tagline
Wednesday 08 October 2008 09:36:42 by Andrew Ferguson
BT Retail has incurred the wrath of the Advertising Standards Authority for an advert that stated:
"Back to Back. We've been named Best Performing Broadband, again. For the second year in a row, an independent survey has named BT Total Broadband as the best performing ADSL provider. To get the UK's most complete broadband package from only £8.95* a month for the first 6 months ... "
Footnote:
"Epitiro benchmark performance of major UK ISPs 24/7 from Jan '06 to Jan '08. For more info: www.epitiro.com ... *BT Home Hub 1.5 is free online only or £25 by telephone with Option 1 ... BT line or similar required ... New customers only ..."Extract from BT Total Broadband advert
The ASA has adjudicated on this advert after it was challenged by Virgin Media. The complaint centres around two issues, that the phrase "Best Performing Broadband" implies all types of broadband, rather than just ADSL and that the advert failed to include a prominent reference to the requirement to have a BT telephone line or equivalent.
The Epitiro survey used for the basis of the claim in the advert only featured ADSL broadband providers and the ASA has told BT to not use the advert again in its current form. BT must make it clear in any future comparisons that the survey looked at just ADSL providers. The ASA attributes the word ADSL as having been in the public domain for six years, so its not clear what those who had ADSL in 2000 and 2001 were using, or perhaps the ASA is referring to when ADSL started to get the attention of the national press.
The complaint about the prominence of the line rental requirement was not upheld. The situation is such that so long as a customer has a choice over who provides their basic telephone line then there is no need to include the line rental cost in the main advert body.
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They basically got their knuckles whacked over this because Epitiro only ever do silly stats on about 6 different providers (see previous stories on here with there so called statistics). It wouldnt of even took a complaint from Virgin to get them in hot water over this, BT clearly is NOT the best performing broadband service out there. Im more shocked the ASA upheld it than BT trying to get away advertising it.
it seems they are allowed to claim best performing 'adsl broadband' tho as long as they state a BT line is required. So they will still be allowed to mislead consumers somewhat.
Yea thats probably what they will do next chrysalis....
LIE some more
To quote the quote provided above.
"has named BT Total Broadband as the best performing ADSL provider."
If the quote is accurate, I'm damned if I see what the problem is. What a lot of fuss about Sweet F A!
^^^ The problem is 2 things....
1. Epitiro who creditted them with that statement never compare more than about 6 providers, thus to call yourself the best when probably less than 1% have been compared id say thats a pretty big problem
2. BT were claiming "BEST BROADBAND" not ADSL... My ADSL2+ is broadband but obviously performs better... Same goes for Virgin their service can perform better..... Thus the ASA rightly and fairly upheld the complaint. If they have claimed "Best ADSL" service they may of got away with it, not that they should.
problem is, in most senses, ADSL *IS* BROADBAND...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband_Internet_access
the definitions of things is changing due to idiots in gov. and ofcon, and sheeple not checking the *proper* meaning... Its called a dictionary!
yes, about time BT was told as much, so forcing it to 'make poosible' the upgrade of '512k' lines that any other company can get to go at 1.5 M...