A Muppet-themed ad by mobile phone provider Three has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after rival EE complained over its claim to be the “undisputed” most reliable network.
EE, UK’s largest mobile phone company, claimed its competitor’s campaign was “misleading” customers and called on the advertising regulator to ban the advert in November last year.
Three’s ad featured Jackson, a muppet character in boxing gloves, with his arms raised in a celebratory gesture, held aloft by two men with the line: “The undisputed. UK’s most reliable network. Again.”
EE took it to Twitter to express its anger by posting the definition of the word “undisputed” from the dictionary.
Three, owned by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, cited a report from polling company YouGov which said it was superiour to other mobile phone networks for five quarters in a row. The mobile phone provider added that there was no standard, objective industry test for network reliability, so the best way to determine it was to ask customers.
But ASA said the headline did not make it clear that the claim was based on “subjective” consumer views in a ruling on Wednesday.
“We noted the findings of the YouGov report, but concluded that because consumers would understand the claim “The undisputed. UK’s most reliable network. Again” to be based on objective measures of network reliability rather than subjective consumer opinion, the claim as it would be understood had not been substantiated and was likely to mislead,” the ASA said.
The ad must not appear again in its current form, the regulator concluded.
The decision might not be the last of Three’s trouble. The UK’s competition watchdog has urged European regulators to effectively block Three's £10.3 billion merger with O2.
Three's deal with Telefonica’s O2 would create the UK’s largest mobile group and reduce the number of big players in the market from four to three.
European competition regulators opened a full inquiry into the deal in October. They have until the 19th of May to decide whether or not to block it.
