Quote:
Originally posted by timewarrior2001
Its predominantly an NTL advertisment for BB internet. They then have a side panel seperated from the main advertisement by a border, and within this border it repeats some facts about internet usage as a whole.
The advertisment in my oppinoin is poor, as it doesnt state where those facts came from. But anyone with a ha'peth of intelligence would know that they are not talking solely about NTL home BB connections there.
I am not saying NTL dont deserve a ticking off because the advertisement is poor and doesnt carry T&C small print.
I also dont think reporting NTL to FACT for this matter is appropriate either.
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You're right, where borders between items on news pages has been the key deciding factors in many a court case, more usually where libel is concerned. But the panel in this case doesn't separate the information from the advert, it's simply a 'sidebar' - a list of related facts that don't easily fit into the main narrative of the text. As such it is still clearly part of the advert. The overall headline also extends over the top of the sidebar, reinforcing this.
On the issue of it not saying these downloads were achieved using NTL connections, again you're right it doesn't. However I've never suggested that this is what NTL are saying (can't speak fow what others have posted) and I don't think they need to be saying this to be inciting illegal activity. They are advertising boradband, then pointing out what some other people use the internet for. The context of this suggestion clearly implies that they see these statistics as a good thing.
These may seem like pedantic details, but as both FACT and the ASA are now clearly involved, they are exactly the issues that are going to get mulled over by the agencies, and, I think, sweated over by NTL's lawyers, who I am certain can't have okayed this before it went to print.