Tiscali has been rapped on the knuckles by the ASA over an advert for its broadband services on a number of commercial radio stations.
Aside from listening to Rick Wakeman mumble his way through unfunny sex jokes on a Saturday morning, Planet Rock listeners have until recently been treated to the offending advert, in which a man repeatedly sings about the price for Tiscali’s broadband services – not only is the advert highly annoying, but is also a bit of a fib.
The price of ‘£9.99′ is repeated several more times, before the man states the terms and conditions at the end of the advert, in a near inaudible voice, stating that the price is actually “£9.99 a month for the first three months, then £14.99 [thereafter].”
Alongside members of the public, rival ISP BT complained to ASA about the ad, claiming it was misleading.
Tiscali accused BT of hypocrisy, claiming that “a current BT national press ad displayed a price of £8.95 with the £17.99 thereafter price within their disclaimer in very small print.”
The ruling was based on the fact that the introductory price was announced repeatedly with the affect that the cheaper price was emphasised and on a first listen, the less obtuse price might be missed – by comparison, the BT press campaign clearly displays the two prices, and doesn’t mention the introductory price with the same frequency or degree of urgency.
At the behest of the ASA, which has in the past scuppered an erroneous Orange campaign, Tiscali withdrew the advert from the airwaves.
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Steve Yagason said on 01 Aug 2007 at 7:57 pm #
I actually heard this advert and thought it quite misleading. It is hard for an advertise to get across the whole message in an alloted period but when the main emphasis is the price then the price after 3 months should be stated with the same vigor.