Wanadoo broadband - 'you can go faster for less' • The Register

Wanadoo broadband - 'you can go faster for less'

Says ad watchdog

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 25th May 2005 10:58 GMT

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Wanadoo UK - in the good old days it used to be called Freeserve - has been ticked off for bragging about its broadband service.

Its ad claiming "You can't go faster for less" just simply isn't true, according to the UK's advertising watchdog responding to a complaint from BT.

Sifting through all the information available, the ASA found that "at least one provider's offer would be cheaper" than Wanadoo's overblown claim.

And since Wanadoo's brag "was an absolute one" leading punters to think it was "a price promise that the advertisers were the cheapest provider of 1Mbps broadband", the ASA had no choice but to rule that the ad was a load of old tosh.

Even three spreadsheets jam-packed with comparative facts and figures wasn't enough to convince the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that Wanadoo was telling the truth.

Elsewhere, cableco NTL also received a public flogging from the ASA - and just 'cos it advertised its internet service in an area where it doesn't supply broadband.

In March one of Wandoo's TV commercials was banned for being "irresponsible" because it might encourage youngsters to play in scrapyards. The ad showed teenagers frolicking, flirting and snogging among wrecked and mangled cars.®