AOL UK has been ticked off by the advertising watchdog for "exaggerating" the performance of its 1Mb broadband service. A member of the public objected to the ad - which featured a cheetah with running spikes - claiming they didn't believe AOL UK could meet its "1Mb Broadband" claim.

Despite presenting the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) with technical evidence, the Authority concluded that "the claim '1Mb' exaggerated the likelihood of users achieving the maximum 1Mb download speed". AOL UK told the ASA that it has since amended its ads to state "up to 1Mb".

The ISP said: "This was the old product name for the Platinum service, so it is no longer in use. At the time we felt that 1Mb Broadband was an appropriate and clear name as it is commonly used to refer to 1Mbps-based services and we always make it clear that our services are 'up to' any given speed, but we will obviously abide by the ASA's decision." ®

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