UK ad regulator bans BT broadband advertisement over false speed claim

UK's advertising regulator, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advertisement of BT, a telecom company for claiming false broadband speeds in the ad.



The regulator decided to ban the ad as it did not find enough evidence to support BT's claim and found that it had made unsubstantiated claims over the quality of its broadband offers.



BT had actually claimed to offer broadband speeds of 20MB even during peak hours though a voice over. The above was the message that BT advertised in its TV ad, print and radio advertisements.



The ad was a continuation of its Adam and Jane series, where an estate agent shows properties to Jane. Then the estate agent is shown trying to access a website, complaining about the peak hour traffic while at the same time Jane is shown accessing the same websites at incredible speeds.



It seems that the complaints were reported to ASA by the BT rivals TalkTalk, Sky broadband and members of the public.