ASA Adjudication on Primus Telecommunications Ltd

Ad

A TV ad in Hindi, for telephony services to India, featured on-screen text that read "PLANET talk INSTANT" and showed two, two-pence coins. The text continued "call INDIA for only 4p/min ... TRY IT RIGHT NOW FROM OFFICE HOME MOBILE PAYPHONE. TRY IT RIGHT NOW TO ALL OF INDIA INCLUDING MOBILE PHONES ... NO A/C NO CREDIT CARD NO BILLS". The voiceover said "With Planet Talk, you can call anywhere in India for just four pence per minute. After that, put in your destination and you’ll be connected. Dial now 0844 ... You can call from anywhere; office, mobile, home or payphone. So call now and speak without permission for just four pence per minute. With no account, no credit card or bills. That’s Planet Talk 0844 ... ". Small on-screen text at the end of the ad read "Calls billed at your telecom providers [sic] 0841, 0871 rates. If calling from a provider other than BT contact service provider directly. Calling subject to availability. Calls are charged from time of connection to the service. Terms and Conditions apply ... Use of service is deemed agreement to allow relevant marketing to your phone ... ".

Issue

1. The complainant, who was charged 15 pence per minute to make a call to India from his mobile phone, challenged whether the ad was misleading.

2. The ASA challenged whether the hold time for the on-screen text was sufficient for viewers to be able to read it.

BCAP TV Code

Response

1. Primus Telecommunications trading as Planet Talk (Planet Talk) told the ASA that the ad was no longer appearing in its current form. They explained that they would amend the text to state "4p from BT landlines". Planet Talk sent us BT pricing information to show that calls to the connection number would cost no more than four pence per minute when calling from a BT landline.

2. Planet Talk said the length of hold for the on-screen text depended on scheduling and programming. They said the hold time for the on-screen text would be increased to a duration of at least ten seconds to make the information more legible.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA acknowledged Planet Talk's swift action in amending the ad. However, while we noted that consumers could call India for four pence per minute from a BT landline, we understood that the same tariff would not apply when making calls from a mobile phone. Because the ad implied that the cost per minute would always be four pence, irrespective of the medium used to make the call, we concluded that it was misleading.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Broadcast (TV) Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.3 (Qualifications) and 5.3.1 (Accurate pricing).

2. Upheld

We noted Planet Talk's willingness to increase the duration of hold of the on-screen text. We nevertheless considered that the text had not been held for a sufficient length of time to allow it to be easily read by viewers. We were also concerned that the presentation of bulk text could deter some readers from attempting to read the information. We therefore concluded that the ad was in breach of the Code.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Broadcast (TV) Advertising Standards Code rule 5.4.2 (Super-imposed text).

Action

The ad should not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)