T-Mobile ads dont tell the truth, says 3
T-Mobile ads dont tell the truth, says 3
Hutchison owned operator 3 has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over T-Mobile’s claim in its adverts that it offers more minutes than anyone else at the £30 price point.
The ad campaign, delivering the message that T-Mobile offers more minutes than its rivals Vodafone, Orange, O2 and 3 for £30 per month, was launched last week, costing the operator £17m. Advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi were called in to create a series of high profile ads, which started to air during the Euro 2008 semi-final.
However, 3 have cried foul of T-Mobile’s message, pointing out that they in fact offer more minutes for only £27 per month, meaning that while the ads may be technically correct in stating that you won’t find a better deal for precisely £30, this is misleading as 3 doesn’t offer a £30 package. T-Mobile, it seems, are pulling a sneaky trick and hoping that nobody will notice their exploitation of this technicality.
In a complaint letter to the ASA, 3 alleges that the £30 a month claim is ‘highly misleading to customers and is in breach of the ASA's CAP code’, and says it should be explicitly excluded from any further advertising based around it. Of course, ‘you won't find more minutes for £30, guaranteed. Apart from with 3’, doesn’t sound quite as good if you’re in T-Mobile’s shoes, so expect an ensuing legal battle if the ads aren’t pulled, which would be a costly and embarrassing move for the network after such an attention grabbing campaign launch.
T-Mobile have yet to comment on the matter, saying that they have not yet received any formal notice from the ASA.
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