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ASA Broadband TalkTalk

TalkTalk ad banned by ASA for exaggerating product performance

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

November 12, 2014 | 2 min read

A TalkTalk ad which claimed its fibre broadband was "unbeatable" and "UK's fastest" has been banned by the ASA.

Talk Talk

The ad said that its “new Super Router gives you an unbeatable signal strength and has the UK's fastest Wi-Fi technology", although a complaint was made that these claims could not be substantiated.

The teleco company said that the claims were based on a comparison with the flagship modems and routers of the other four major market providers on a like for like basis.

However, the ASA noted that the tests were not carried out under typical home cicrumstances of users.

It stated: “We considered that consumers would understand the claims 'unbeatable' and 'UK's fastest' to reflect conditions of use in the home which would be influenced by variables such as the placement of the router in the home and where it was being accessed from, time of day and the number and type of devices linked to it. We were therefore concerned that the testing did not reflect typical consumer use.”

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

A TalkTalk spokesperson said: “We have commissioned additional tests from an independent authority and have now found that our Super Router outperforms competitors’ models in real home environments, as well as in the laboratory. We have noted the ASA’s guidance.”

ASA Broadband TalkTalk

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