Virgin Media Ad Campaign Banned

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Virgin Media ad campaign which compared its services with that of Sky.

The ASA upheld the complaints from Sky over Virgin Media’s “The real deal” campaign, saying that the ads were misleading.

One of the complaints said that showing the supposed “real price” was misleading because it implied that the Virgin Media’s £30 per month fee for cable TV, landline phone and broadband, was standard and not a promotional offer.

A second complaint against said that the ad implied that access to films and TV shows on Virgin’s Top TV package were free when they were pay-per-view.

A third complaint said that the ad unfairly compared Sky’s broadband offering with that of Virgin Media.

The ASA upheld the claims and said: “We told Virgin not to repeat the ads and advised them to seek help for the amendments from the CAP Copy Advice team.”

Last week, Virgin Media announced that it will be launching an online sports portal giving visitors the chance to watch highlights from all Barclays Premier League, Coca-Cola Championship, League 1 and League 2 matches for free (see Virgin Launches Online Sports Portal).

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk