ASA Adjudication on Tesco Mobile Ltd

Ad

A poster, a radio ad and a TV ad for Tesco Mobile.

a. The poster featured a drawing of a man blowing a trumpet. Text stated "Top-up £15 a month And we triple it to £45 Tesco Mobile network. We triple your credit". Small print stated "Free credit 01, 02, 03 and UK Mobiles, valid for 1 month. Register before top-up. 48 hour activation. Triple credit applies to £15 and £20 top-up and is given each month. Details online".

b. The radio ad voice-over stated "Tesco Mobile. Top up £15 a month and we'll triple it to £45. Well, some networks are more famous. Some more glamorous. So all that leaves us is generous. Triple your credit with Tesco Mobile. Every little helps. Free credit for 01, 02, 03 and UK mobiles and mobile Internet browsing. For activation details see tescomobile.com".

c. The TV ad featured an animated character blowing a trumpet and then holding a sign that stated "Top up £15 a month and we triple it to £45". The voice-over stated "Tesco Mobile. We're really proud of our network. But let's face it, we know we're not exactly the most famous. So, if we're going to get your attention, we need to work twice as hard. Oh alright; three times as hard. Triple your credit. Tesco Mobile. Every little helps". On-screen text stated "Free credit 01,02, 03 & UK mobiles, valid for 1 month. Details online. Register before top up. 48 hour activation".

Issue

Four members of the public believed the TV and radio ads and the poster were misleading because they did not make clear that existing customers would have to change tariff in order to qualify for the offer.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

BCAP TV Code

BCAP Radio Code

Response

Tesco said the poster (a), radio ad (b) and TV ad (c) referred to their new Free Credit Tariff, a pay as you go tariff, which gave customers free credit when they topped up and was available to both new and existing customers.  They said all new customers were signed up to the Free Credit Tariff and confirmed that existing customers would need to change from their current tariff to benefit from the triple credit.  They said they did not believe it was misleading to omit this information from their advertising and believed all the ads clearly stated the key conditions, including the requirement to register/activate the free credit and how to get further information.  Tesco said, in the interests of conveying a clear message for customers in the limited time and space available in the ads, they set out what they believed to be the most useful, important and material point which was the need for the customer to take further action to qualify for free credit.  They said full information was made readily accessible to customers online and when they called to register for the advertised offer and existing customers were advised before signing up that they would need to change tariff.  They believed that, although a relatively small number of customers would see an increase in their standard flat rate, switching to the triple credit tariff would provide better overall value for them.  Tesco believed that their advertising campaign and activation process ensured that adequate information was provided to existing customers and believed that the average consumer, seeing the ads and following the instructions in them, were unlikely to have been misled.

The RACC said the radio ad (b) qualified which numbers could benefit from the free credit and stated "For activation details, see tescomobile.com".  They said the website stated that existing customers would need to change their tariff and how to do it for free.  They believed that, for a short radio ad, the qualification was proportionate.  

Clearcast believed the TV ad (c) was designed to attract new customers who might not have heard of the network and would be interested in the offer.  They believed the need to register for the new tariff was clearly stated in the on-screen text, which stated "Register before top up".  They did not believe the ad was misleading.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered that the ads were addressed to both new and existing Tesco Mobile customers.  We noted the offer of triple credit applied to a newly introduced tariff, which all new customers would automatically join when they contacted Tesco Mobile.  However, we considered that, because the ads did not make clear that the offer was for a new tariff and existing customers would have to change tariff, existing customers were likely to believe the offer of triple credit applied to the tariff that they were currently on.

We noted the small print on poster (a) and the on-screen text in TV ad (c) stated "Register before top-up. 48 hour activation" and the radio ad (b) directed listeners to the Tesco Mobile website for activation.  We considered, however, that these qualifications merely highlighted to customers, both new and existing, that they needed to register before they topped-up to qualify for the triple credit and that they would have to wait for the triple credit to be activated before use.  We considered that the qualifications were not sufficient to warn existing customers of the important condition that they would need to change their tariff to the Free Credit Tariff in order to take advantage of the advertised offer.  We considered the need for existing customers to change tariff was a significant condition likely to affect their decision whether or not to visit the website for more information and therefore should have been included in the ads.  We concluded that the ads were likely to mislead.

The poster breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).  The TV ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.2.3 (Misleading advertising) and the radio ad breached CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2, rule 3.1 (Misleadingness).

Action

The poster must not appear again in its current form.  The TV and radio ads must not be broadcast again in their current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)