'Misleading' Vodafone Martin Freeman break-up ad banned
Another ad in Vodafone's Martin Freeman series has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), this time for failing to make clear the terms of its 30-day service guarantee.
11 members of the public complained about the ad, which they felt was ambiguous about when the brand's '30-day rule' (which allows customers to cancel their new contracts after 30 days if they're not satisfied) started.
The spot shows Freeman's character sitting in a car in the rain with his girlfriend.
"I haven't got the strength to keep arguing with you," he says, "I'm leaving."
It's then revealed he's speaking to his phone contract provider on hands-free. A voice on the other end of the line replies: "You can't leave, you're still within your contract."
A voiceover then states: "Breaking up's never easy. But unlike other networks, Vodafone has a 30-day service guarantee, so if you don't love us you can leave us."
Vodafone argued that it had published the address of its terms and conditions online, and that this was noted in the spot via a caption, but the ASA sided with the complainants. It banned the spot and told Vodafone to guarantee future ads didn't misleadingly imply that its service guarantee could be applied any time during a contract.
A Vodafone spokesperson said: "Our 'love us or leave us' 30-day service guarantee is the best in the market. We already make clear that the 30 days is from the start of a customer's contract in our terms and conditions, and will also make sure this is totally clear in our marketing."
Last month a series of , radio, TV and online ads for the brand were banned after it promoted misleading broadband speed claims.