British Telecommunications plc t/a BT 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ Number of complaints: 21

Date: 16 July 2008 Media: Television Sector: Computers and telecommunications

Ad
A TV ad for BT Total Broadband showed a young girl slamming her bedroom door on her mother and saying "You don't understand." The shot cut to the mother's partner seated on the sofa. His thoughts were spoken in a voice-over that stated "kids today, they think they know it all, they think they're so mature, but they're exactly the same as we were". The next shot showed the woman entering the kitchen and putting a laptop down on the work top. The man joined her in the kitchen. The woman said "I'm worried about Lucy, she seems to spend all her time up in her room on the computer, she's only ten." The man asked "What are you worried about?" The woman replied "I am worried that she might ... be a geek". The on-screen text stated "Hub from £30. Handset from £39.99. BT Line required. Subject to availability. Parental Controls is not Mac compatible. New customers only. Exclusions/conditions apply." The voice-over stated "Unlike some Broadband providers BT Total Broadband comes with parental controls as standard for as long as you want them, so you know your kids are protected." The daughter walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out a glass of orange juice. She asked sarcastically "Is this allowed?"

Issue
1. 20 complainants challenged whether the ad encouraged or condoned parents letting their children use the internet unsupervised, which might result in them coming to harm.

2. Nine complainants challenged whether the ad was misleading, because it implied the parental control software offered by BT would protect children from all online threats.

BCAP TV Advertising Code:

5.1;5.2.2;6.7;7.4.2

Response
1. British Telecommunications plc (BT) said it was not their intention to encourage children to use the internet unsupervised, but to highlight the need for parents to use parental controls to keep their children safe. They said they believed the ad was responsible and reflected the reality of modern life today by highlighting the pressures on parents to regulate their children's access to the internet. They said they did not believe the ad encouraged or condoned parents letting their children use the internet unsupervised, because the mother had confiscated the laptop from the child and placed it in a communal area of the house.

Clearcast said the mother was shown holding the laptop at the start of the ad then placing it on the work top in the kitchen after the argument with the daughter. They said that those shots made clear the parents were involved in supervising the child's internet use, and the argument that featured in the ad was a result of their intervention. They said they did not believe the ad encouraged or condoned parents letting their children use the internet unsupervised.

2. BT said the Parental Controls provided a range of services and sent details of the product features, which included a dedicated children's walled garden website and a function to prevent incoming and outgoing messaging. They said they considered that the claims made in the ad were a fair description of the services available to parents.

Clearcast said they considered that the line " ... comes with parental controls as standard, so you know your kids are protected" did not suggest that your child was protected from everything or all online dangers. They said it was true to say that parental controls came as standard and those controls went a considerable way towards protecting your child.

Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted BT and Clearcast's comments. We accepted that the ad showed parents supervising their child's internet use by taking the laptop from her and placing it in a communal area in the house. Because the ad showed parents taking an interest in and supervising their child's internet use, and the voice-over made it clear the parents were concerned about their child's welfare, we concluded it did not condone or encourage parents letting their children use the internet unsupervised.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.7 (Health and Safety) and 7.4.2 (Physical Harm) but did not find it in breach.

2. Not upheld
We noted that BT Parental Controls contained a number of features that allowed parents to limit both the amount of time their children spent on the internet and the type of sites they visited. Although we acknowledged that no software programme could protect children from all online threats, we agreed with Clearcast that the overall impression created by the ad was not that it offered total protection for children online, but that Parental Controls came as standard with BT Total Broadband and went some way to protecting children online. Moreover, we considered that most viewers would not expect BT's Parental Controls software to protect their children from all online threats. We therefore concluded the ad was not misleading.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading Advertising) and 5.2.2 (Implications) but did not find it in breach.

Action
No action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)