Vodafone ad banned following complaint from Telefonica over emergency services claim
A TV and print ad by Vodafone that claimed 77 per cent of the emergency services use the telecommunications provider has been banned after rival company Telefonica said is misled viewers.
The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) investigated four issues, three of which were upheld, after Telefonica complained the ad misleadingly implied that 77 per cent of emergency services employees used Vodafone in a personal, not professional, capacity and that the basis of the claim was not clear.
Vodafone said that it pulled together the data after working closely with Kable, a public sector market intelligence firm, to create a clear definition of emergency services. It then referenced its billing system to identify that Vodafone had billed 77 per cent of all those authorities for a range of services.
Vodafone said it had been “very careful” not to make a claim that would imply that it provided the emergency services with a specific kind of service, or provided services on an exclusive basis, and that it thought the on-screen text made clear the basis of the 77 per cent claim.
The ASA stated that because it had concerns that a number of viewers might understand the ad to refer to private usage, which was not the case and that Vodafone did not make clear the basis of the comparison, it deemed the ad as misleading.
It must not appear again in its current form.