BT, Telewest tussle over ad

One part of a BT complaint over a Telewest blueyonder broadband promotion has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The advert in question was a direct mail ad, which drew comparisons between the installation processes of blueyonder compared to BT's broadband services. One piece of copy in the ad said blueyonder was "...easier to install than BT," while another claimed: "When it comes to installation, we'll send an engineer round to install it for you. (BT leave you to figure out the installation process for yourself and they charge you a lot more.)"

BT challenged both claims. In the first case, BT said the blueyonder advert implied the BT service was difficult to install. Two different opinions emerged during the adjudication of this complaint - while blueyonder said they had merely "pointed out an obvious fact: that it was easier to have Broadband Internet installed by a professional engineer than for an individual to install it themselves," the ASA said it understood that BT's product was designed to be simple to install so that it removed the need for on-site technical assistance." Additionally, BT pointed out that a dedicated technical helpline was available for customers with installation queries. Therefore, because the ASA agreed with BT's claim that the Telewest advert implied BT's service was difficult to install, the complaint was upheld and Telewest was told "to ensure they did not repeat the implication that it was difficult to install in future advertising."

The second complaint involved BT challenging the veracity of the claim that "they charge you a lot more." This complaint was not upheld, as at the time, Telewest were charging £25 for installation as part of a half-price promotion; BT's standard installation charge for a modem and "enhancement of their customer's telephone lines" is £50. Therefore, the ASA ruled: "the advertisers were justified, during their half-price installation promotion, in claiming BT charged a lot more for broadband installation."