Mazuma Mobile TV advert banned by ASA
An TV advert for Mazuma Mobile has been banned by the Advertising Standards Association for targeting teenagers to swap their phones for cash.
13 complaints were received about the advertising campaign that ran in April featuring a teenage girl and boy dancing to a jingle about trading the phones for cash through mazumamobile.com,
The advert claimed that the company would pay up to £150 for a mobile phone.
The complaints challenged whether the advert was irresponsible with children being ‘midlead into thinking they could trade their mobile phones, with parental consent being necessary.
Mazuma said their campaign did not target children and that the children’s channels used had delivered less than 10% of their target audience and that the service had a strong appeal to adults.
It also claimed that it made clear that orders could only be submitted by under 18-year-olds with the supervision of a parent or guardian.
The company had used actors of 18 or over, and also presented bundles of £150 notes in its advertising, but that the maximum amount that could be obtained was actually £280.
Despite this, the ASA upheld the complaints saying that it felt that the advert exaggerated the benefits of the service and that it was likely to have a strong appeal to children due to its music and young actors. It also said that Mazuma was unable to verify whether parents were present through its website when under 18’s made transactions.