Microsoft ad escapes ASA ban after complaints it made misleading claims over Gmail privacy
A radio ad for Microsoft Outlook has escaped a ban from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after complaints that it implied Outlook offered greater privacy than Gmail.
The ad began with a character who stated, "Ymay ivatepray e-mailway isway onway ofway eirthay usinessbay." The voice-over then stated "Pig Latin may be hard to understand, but you probably need it if you use Gmail, because Gmail scans every word of your e-mails to sell ads.
“But Outlook.com doesn't. And you can choose to opt out of personalised ads. To stop Gmail from using your e-mails, use Outlook.com. Learn more at KeepYourEmailPrivate.com and keep your e-mails ivatepray".
Two complainants challenged the ad, which was created by Wunderman.
Microsoft stated it believed that Outlook.com offered greater privacy than Gmail because the latter scanned e-mails for the purpose of targeting ads, whereas Outlook.com only undertook "protective" scanning for viruses and spam.
The tech giant added that the ad focused on the scanning of e-mails for ad targeting, as this was a “key distinguishing feature between Outlook.com and Gmail” of which consumers might not be aware.
In its ruling the ASA noted that the ad referred “explicitly” to Gmail scanning e-mail content for the purposes of targeting ads, and that this reference was immediately followed by the statement "Outlook.com doesn't".
The ASA added that it considered that listeners were likely to appreciate that the statement was “only in relation to scanning for ad targeting,” rather than protective scanning, and that the ad did not state or imply that no other forms of scanning were used.
No further action was necessary.