BSkyB ‘Anytime+’ ad banned for misleading customers
A TV ad by BSkyB which began by saying ‘If you've got Sky Movies 1 and 2 with Sky's unlimited broadband, then this offer is just for you.’ but was only available to those who did not already have Anytime+ activated, has been banned by the ASA.
The ad, by Brothers and Sisters, received 86 complaints from customers who believed that the significant condition was not made sufficiently clear in the ad.
BSkyB said that onscreen text read ‘New Anytime customers only’, and that the voiceover said "so you can access Anytime+", and it believed that the conditions were clear from this.
Clearcast agreed, saying it did not believe the on-screen text "New Anytime customers only" contradicted the offer "If you've got Sky Movies 1 and 2 with Sky's unlimited broadband, then this offer is just for you."
The ASA said: “We considered the words "If you've got Sky Movies 1 and 2 with Sky's unlimited broadband, then this offer is just for you" implied that the offer was open to all Sky customers who met these conditions. We also considered the words "just for you" emphasised this group of customers in particular had been selected.
“We noted Sky believed the words "so you can access Anytime+" made it clear the offer was aimed at customers who had not activated Anytime+, and that Clearcast believed customers who already had Anytime+ would not need to "access" it again.
“However, we considered that "access" may be understood by customers to refer to using the Anytime+ service, and so they would have to "access" it every time they did so. We considered the on screen text "New Anytime customers only" contradicted rather than qualified the offer, and therefore concluded the ad was misleading.
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