ASA Says Talk Is Cheap But Not With NTL

The ASA has upheld a complaint against NTL after rival telecommunications company, BT, objected to a magazine advert that stated: “Smile. Talk is cheaper with NTL.”

BT claimed that the ad was “misleading” as it implied that all of NTL’s customers would save money on all of their calls, which it “argued” was not the case.

NTL denied that the ad made such implications and argued that the savings claims made in the ad were correct. The company provided evidence to back up its argument and pointed out that the ad would not appear again.

The ASA recognised that the ad was a one-off, but concluded that the claim; “Talk is cheaper with NTL” implied that all customers would save money on all calls with the advertiser. The authority told NTL to avoid making “total savings” claims if at least one of their competitors’ call rates was at any time cheaper than their own and ordered the company to seek advice from the Committee of Advertising Practice when making similar claims in the future.

BT’s “Anytime” ads, which came second in the recent “Ads That Make News” survey (see Tesco Tops Ad Controversy League), had to be withdrawn earlier in the year after the ASA ruled that they were misleading.

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

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