Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Fallen foul of advertising watchdog.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/231045/a...dband-ads.html

Sorry if this has already been posted, please feel free to merge, I did riun a quick forum search, honest. :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

1 complaint from sky,2 from joe public,hardly an outcry!! :(
VM are claiming their through speed can be reached whereas other ISP's claim 'up to' speeds,(which have never been proven extensively)the ASA ruled that the public wouldnt be able to differentiate between the 2 so found in favour of the 3 complainants..beggers belief..seems ASA think we are all thickies.

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Well it shows some balance, Virgin did have a ten point complaint against them previously that was not upheld on all counts.

However I agree, the term outcry is a little tabloid. :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Its a shame that they got `slapped down` for basically the ASA dumbing down the british publics understanding of broadband speeds.

I guess when 50Mb comes out they will be able to take back the crown of having the fastest `upto` speed

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

How many people though can be bothered to write to the ASA, how many even know they exist?

The tabloid angle of the article is pants, and the ASA's understanding of broadband is dubious, however here they're probably about right.

Remember also that all ISPs advertise 'up to' for various reasons - have a closer look at the adjudication and note that even VM's 20Mbit tests through Epitiro averaged around 10Mbit.

While the ASA may think we're all thickies nearly all advertising people do, it's their job ;)

---------- Post added at 18:30 ---------- Previous post was at 18:27 ----------

I think you overestimate the British public's understanding of broadband speeds there, it's why DSL advertisements have to note that speeds may be lower due to line quality, people still think they'll get that advertised speed 24x7. Some do, some don't!

I've complained to the ASA in the past about an advertisement, when Virgin Media started advertising fibre optic broadband. I've also however written regarding other ads from broadband suppliers as well, my main bones being badly performing ISPs advertising super fast servers and especially ISPs with FUPs punishing heavier users advertising unlimited broadband. :mad:

I would actually quite like to see advertisements listing not only maximum speeds but also an average speed for their service, based on industry approved and standardised testing metrics, and no service that throttles speeds being listed as unlimited, along with it being made clear that services which do so shape certain protocols and types of traffic.

However that wouldn't be very good advertising now, would it, as testing shows that even the better performing higher speed services only average perhaps 50% of maximum performance going by VM's Epitiro data.

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

But you know that what Virgin claimed were lies. that's why it matters. if we all thought you need more than 3 complaints to make it an untruth, then we might as well just let anyone say anything they want.

there are people that believe what they are told and what they read. then there are others that know it's all a pack of lies :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

OK, who got 20:15 in the pool for the Gary L "lets diss VM comment on every chance I get"? :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Not sure, but I had 21:00 in the 'First Person to Attract A Moderator's Attention by Dragging the Thread Off Topic with a Needless Dig at Another Poster' pool.....

---------- Post added at 21:04 ---------- Previous post was at 21:03 ----------

<HINT> Subtle comment that includes very string suggestion as to the future direction of this thread </HINT>

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

What you win? :)

And I thought my post was on topic considering I started it :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Hi pal, any chance you can spell my name correctly? it looks like you're being homophobic :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

YIKES..........sorry, correcting it now. :blush:

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Quite. I've just recieved a flyer through the post which contained the same misleading statements.

I think the ASA have got it right this time.

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Well, I know they exist, and I have complained to them about NTL in the past - when they ran an ad in a regional newspaper touting one of the benefits of broadband as being that you could download Spiderman off the internet before it was even in the cinema.

They may well have actually meant you could download the trailer off the internet, but even so ...

We had a thread about it on here, right back in the very early days of this site (because there was a near-identical thread going on at nthw.com at the same time). I was applauded and pilloried in equal measure.

Those were the days ... :D

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

Hey, those days can be easily revived,you just say the word :)

Re: Virgin slapped down by ASA. again
 

It's here if you are that interested