ASA bans “misleading” Sky Anytime+ ad
February 22, 2012
The UK advertising regulator has banned a TV ad by BSkyB aimed at users of its Anytime+ service after almost 100 complaints claimed it was misleading and unfair because Sky refused to offer the deal to all customers.
The TV ad campaign, which ran with the line “welcome to the world of better offers”, targeted BSkyB customers who have subscriptions to Sky Movies 1 and 2 and the company’s unlimited broadband package.
The campaign offered customers a free wireless connector to allow them to access the Anytime+ service, which offers a vast library of films and TV shows on-demand.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that the ad was misleading as it gave the impression all customers with the package promoted in the ad would get the deal when this was not the case.
BSkyB said the ad “appropriately qualified” the offer as only being valid for Sky customers who had not already activated Sky Anytime+.
However the ASA said the line – “If you’ve got Sky Movies 1 and 2 with Sky’s unlimited broadband, then this offer is just for you” – implied that the offer was available to all customers who had that package.
The ASA said the later qualification that it was for customers new to Anytime+ was “contradictory” and did not qualify the offer. The ASA banned the ad on the grounds that it was misleading.