With both BT Retail and TalkTalk running various promotions on YouView boxes it is with interest to see BT making a complaint about a TalkTalk promotion that was run back in October 2012 when the Freeview HD/catchup TV hybrid device was first launched.
"British Telecommunications plc challenged whether the claims 'usually/normally £299' were misleading and could be substantiated, because, to their knowledge, the YouView box had only been available to purchase for six days when the press ad was published, and seven days when the claim on their website appeared."
Complaint from BT plc
TalkTalk told the ASA the box was available for sale on their website for £299, with the webpage offering the box receiving thousands of views for what is apparently a bespoke set-top box only available from TalkTalk.
Alas for TalkTalk the ASA has upheld the complaint, based in part on the lack of evidence for actual sales of the device at £299 (at the time of the advert) and that the date between the device launching and the claim of it usually costing £299 was not of sufficient time to qualify as been generally sold at a higher price.
Seems that every marketing department has at least one person with the brief of complaining about competitors advertising.