Committees of Advertising Practice unveils new broadband advertising rules
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has today published guidance which aims to bring clarity to advertisers and consumers on the use of “unlimited” and “up to” speed claims in telecommunications and broadband ads.
The guidance will come fully into effect from April 2012.
Under the new guidelines, services should not be described as “unlimited” if users are charged or have their service suspended for exceeding a certain threshold e.g. 2000 texts.
It has also been stated that maximum speed claims for broadband should be based on the actual experience of users, and marketers should be able to demonstrate that the speeds claimed in their advertising can be achieved by at least 10% of consumers.
James Best, chairman of CAP, said: “This new guidance directly responds to consumer concerns by setting an appropriately high bar for advertisers who want to make speed and ‘unlimited’ claims in ads. Advertising is only effective if consumers trust the messages they see and hear. This guidance will help deliver that.”
CAP has created ‘Help Notes’ for advertisers, following a request by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who asked CAP to review advertising claims in the telecommunications sector following complaints about whether consumers could achieve advertised speeds and “unlimited” usage of services as claimed.
The guidance, which was produced following a full public consultation, will help the ASA Council when considering complaints about speed and usage claims in ads in future.